Belgrade-Pristina clash over terrorism allegations

(ANSA) - BELGRADO, 17 LUG - A new fierce clash has erupted between Belgrade and Pristina, with mutual accusations of supporting terrorism and illegality. Serbian Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic and the head of the Serbian Government Office for Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, have indignantly rejected the statements of Kosovo's Interior Minister Xelhal Svecla, calling them false and defamatory.
    Svecla claimed that terrorist training camps, supported by the Serbian Army, are active in Serbia, similar to those that were involved in last year's attack in Banjska, in northern Kosovo. According to Svecla, the mastermind behind this armed action was Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic himself.
    "On the territory of Serbia, unlike the territory under Pristina's control, terrorists have never been trained, nor are they currently being trained. In Serbia, terrorists are arrested and prosecuted, while in Pristina, they roam freely, engage in lucrative businesses, or hold public office," said Minister Gasic.
    He added that the Serbian Army's training grounds are used exclusively for its own needs and that all other information and alleged evidence from Svecla are mere lies and falsehoods. Gasic also accused the Kosovar leadership of arming and training paramilitary formations in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
    "The task of these illegal armed groups is to terrorize the Serbs in Kosovo and ultimately carry out ethnic cleansing of that territory against the non-Albanian population. The effects of this criminal activity are well known to everyone," said the defense minister.
    Petkovic echoed similar sentiments, calling the allegations that President Vucic was the mastermind behind the armed attack by a group of Serbs on a Kosovar police patrol last September in Banjska, northern Kosovo, a colossal lie.
    "The only existing proof is the persecution of Serbs by (Kosovo Prime Minister Albin) Kurti and Svecla. Banjska was the consequence of terror against the Serbs. And for you, Vucic is guilty because he wants to maintain peace and cares about his people," Petkovic said. (ANSA).