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Three Kosovo Serbs jailed over deadly gun battle and monastery siege
A Kosovo court convicted three Kosovo Serbs for involvement in the 2023 Banjska incident, with two men handed life terms and one given 30 years. The case relates to a gun battle with police and a siege of a monastery in northern Kosovo, amid broader tensions with Serbia.
Why It Matters
The verdict underscores ongoing tensions between Kosovo and Serbia and the contested role of Serbia in attacks on Kosovo's constitutional order, affecting regional security and EU-normalisation efforts.
Timeline
7 Events
Kosovo court sentences three men over Banjska attack
April 24, 2026
A Pristina court sentences Vladimir Tolić and Blagoj Spasojević to life imprisonment and Dušan Maksimović to 30 years for violating Kosovo's constitutional order and inciting terrorist activities related to the Banjska incident. Prosecutors had charged 45 people in total; most are believed to be in Serbia.
Kosovo accuses Belgrade of involvement and cites accountability
September 25, 2023
Kosovo authorities cite Radoičić's connections to Serbia's government as evidence of official support for the attack, while noting he has not been charged in Serbia.
Self-confessed leader Milan Radoičić emerges in Serbia and claims logistics role
September 25, 2023
Milan Radoičić, the self-confessed leader who was deputy leader of the Serbian List party, appears in Serbia and boasted that he personally arranged the logistics for the attack; he remains at large there with an Interpol arrest warrant.
Monastery siege ends; police regain control; attackers escape
September 24, 2023
Kosovo police special forces take control of the monastery in the late afternoon, but the surviving group members slip away despite being surrounded.
Shooting continues; police officer killed and group members die
September 24, 2023
The day-long firefight results in the death of police Sgt Afrim Bunjaku and three members of the armed group, with two officers injured. The clash persists throughout the day.
Armed group retreats to monastery and barricades itself
September 24, 2023
The attackers withdraw to the nearby 14th century Serbian Orthodox monastery in Banjska, barricading themselves inside as pilgrims from Novi Sad observe.
Banjska incident begins with police response to lorry blockade
September 24, 2023
Kosovo police respond in the early hours to a lorry blockade on a bridge in Banjska, northern Kosovo, triggering an armed confrontation with a group of Kosovo Serbs that marks the start of the day's events.