Montenegrin police and the Prosecutor's Office in Rožaje are investigating two incidents on the border between Montenegro and Kosovo – one in July last year and another on August 24 of this year – when the facilities of the Hajlla-Shtedim ski center were damaged by gunfire.
In both cases, the Police and the Prosecution suspect that the shootings were carried out from Kosovo territory, the Chief Prosecutor of the Basic Prosecution Office in Rozhaja, Aldin Kallaç, confirmed to Radio Free Europe.
The ski center facilities, which are located near the Kosovo-Montenegrin border in the territory of Rozhaja and are still under construction, have been guarded by the Police since July.
The Rozhaja Prosecutor's Office had already opened a case for the July 2024 incident, when bullet holes were found in the cable car facility. After finding new damage to the cable car at the end of August this year, the Prosecutor's Office has asked the Police to collect data to open a case for this incident as well.
"Towards the end of August, three gunshot wounds were observed in the cabin of the ski center. The police have taken action to identify the perpetrators, but the aggravating circumstance remains the fact that the act was committed from the territory of the Republic of Kosovo," said Kallaç.
He added that the police are still gathering information and that cooperation has been requested from the Kosovo Police. Fadil Gashi from the Kosovo Police for the Peja region told Radio Free Europe that there is no information about security incidents on the border with Montenegro, stressing that the regional police are more engaged “in maintaining public order and peace,” and not in international incidents.
Radio Free Europe has also contacted the central directorate of the Kosovo Police with the question of whether they have any information regarding the case and is awaiting a response. A response is also expected from the Kosovo Government on the same issue.
On the other hand, the mayor of Peja, Gazmend Muhaxhiri, told Radio Free Europe that he maintains contact with local authorities in Rozhaja, specifically with mayor Rahman Husovic, but that no one has informed him about these suspicions or the incidents that have occurred.
"Now I'm hearing it from you. No one has contacted me, no one has reported anything. I last saw the mayor of Rozhaja in June, but I haven't received any complaints. Seven or eight days ago I was in Plav, they could have told me something, but no one has told me anything," he said.
At the session of the Municipal Assembly of Rozhaja, held on September 18, the head of the Security Department in this municipality, Vladimir Dellević, stated that several incidents have been recorded at the future Hajlla-Shtedim ski center, including a more serious one on August 24 of this year.
He confirmed that there had been incidents in July of last year and that since July 9 of this year, the Police have been guarding the ski center 24 hours a day, as they had "operational information that the entire infrastructure could be at risk."
"The incident occurred on July 24, 2024, when firearms were used from the territory of the neighboring state and the metal structure near the upper gate of the ski center under construction was damaged," said Dellević.
Regarding the incident of August 24 of this year, he added that the case "could go beyond the framework of a security incident and rise to a diplomatic level."
"A report on this has just been compiled and submitted to the director. He and the Minister of Internal Affairs will address the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which will take measures... which I don't know," Dellević said.
The public was not informed about last year's incident, nor about the police guarding the center since July of this year, nor about the incident last August.
The Ministries of Internal and Foreign Affairs, as well as the Police Directorate, have not commented on this issue. Radio Free Europe has sent questions to all of these institutions./REL
