On the second anniversary of the deadly attack by Serb gunmen in the village of Banjska, in the Serb-majority northern Kosovan municipality of Zvecan, where Kosovo Police Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku was killed and two other officers were injured, Kosovo officials and international diplomats renewed their calls for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

During a commemoration ceremony for Sergeant Bunjaku, Acting Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that, “we are a state that stands by its people, with police who sacrifice themselves to protect all citizens and uphold public order and the rule of law.”

Kurti described the reaction of the Kosovo police as a “victory,” highlighting that three attackers were killed and three others are currently in detention in Kosovo. 

During opening statements at the Prishtina Basic Court on April 17, the prosecution claimed it would prove that the incident was staged by a well-trained and organised group. The three men—Blagoje Spasojevic, Vladimir Tolic, and Dusan Maksimovic—who were arrested in relation to this crime, have pleaded not guilty on charges of terrorism and endangering the constitutional order of Kosovo.

Kosovo authorities consider it a terrorist attack.

On Wednesday, Kurti also called for international support to bring the remaining 41 indicted individuals, most of whom are at large in Serbia, to justice.

“With [the EU rule-of-law mission in Kosovo] EULEX and international oversight, these suspects can receive a fair trial and the punishment they deserve,” he said.

The German Embassy in Prishtina also marked the anniversary of the shooting, expressing concerns over Radoicic—who publicly took responsibility for the attack—remaining at liberty in Serbia.

“[It has been] two years since the terrible Banjska attack and yet, the self-confessed leader of the attack, Radoicic, continues to live freely in Serbia. Two years since the killing of Kosovo Police officer Afrim Bunjaku and, despite various assurances that the perpetrators will be held accountable, still no justice has been served.”

The embassy added that this obvious impunity is unacceptable.

“It’s imperative that accountability and justice are implemented without further delay.”

The British Embassy in Kosovo echoed these calls, paying tribute to the professionalism and bravery of the Kosovo Police and prosecutors: “The perpetrators, including Milan Radoicic, have not yet been apprehended. We again urge the Serbian authorities to take immediate action.”

The French embassy in Kosovo also reacted with, “Two years after the criminal attack in Banjska, which claimed the life of Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku, our thoughts are with his family. France continues to call for the perpetrators of this deadly attack to be brought to justice.”

The attack, which occurred on September 24, 2023, shocked the region. Drone footage, released two days later by Kosovo’s Minister of Internal Affairs Xhelal Sveçla, showed armed and uniformed militants gathered outside the guesthouse of the Banjska Monastery.

Milan Radoicic, the former vice-president of the Belgrade backed party Lista Srpska, admitted in a public letter—read by his lawyer Goran Petronijevic—that he had planned the Banjska attack to “protect our people from the occupier.” In the same letter, he announced his resignation from his political post.

Radoicic was briefly arrested in Belgrade on October 3, 2023, and held for 48 hours before being released to be investigated in freedom. The Belgrade Higher Prosecutor’s Office said at the time that it was probing him for organising an armed group, the unauthorised amassing of a large cache of weapons which he transported to Kosovo, and “serious crimes against general security.” Radoicic was questioned by the Belgrade prosecutors in October 2023, and reportedly claimed he was innocent of these crimes. 

On December 6, 2023, INTERPOL issued a red notice for Radoicic and 19 others suspected of involvement in the attack.  On September 11, 2024, the Special Prosecution of Kosovo charged 44 individuals, including Radoicic, and one company for crimes related to terrorism, terrorist financing, and money laundering.

Special Prosecutor Blerim Isufaj stated that the investigation involved extensive evidence collection: “We analysed around 120 electronic devices and over 1,266 weapons and other materials. Hundreds of documents have been gathered containing critical evidence.”

In early October 2023,  a BIRN investigation revealed that bullets seized from Serb gunmen in north Kosovo a few weeks before the attack were made in Serbia in 2022, while mortar rounds and grenade launchers passed through Serbian state maintenance centres in 2018 and 2021.