UPDATE - Armed individuals who attacked Kosovar police are local Kosovo Serbs: Serbian president

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM PRESIDENT ALEKSANDAR VUCIC, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Sunday said that armed individuals who attacked Kosovar police are not from Serbia but are local Kosovo Serbs.

Earlier, a police officer was killed and another injured in a clash between a patrol unit of police and a group of armed ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo.

Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti had claimed that organized criminal groups, with political, financial, and logistical support from Belgrade, were behind Sunday’s attack.

Vucic said: “A group of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija placed two trucks as a barricade in Banjska, then the Kosovo police came and tried to remove the barricade. A clash broke out and a police officer was killed and another injured.”

According to him, the international community gave “carte blanche to kill Kosovo Serbs” after the murder of an ethnic Albanian policeman.

"They (Kosovar police) approach them (attackers) with snipers, chase them, and kill them, which they (the international community) have never allowed in such a way elsewhere,” the Serbian president said.

He accused Kurti of trying to drag Serbia into a conflict with NATO.

"I appeal to our people to remain peaceful and calm, let's do our best to prevent further bloodshed," Vucic said.

According to Vucic, the Kosovar police officer was killed because NATO forces did not intervene.

He said that the best solution would be the deployment of international forces to the north of Kosovo.

"Someone did this on purpose ... in an hour and 20 minutes they gathered 460 special forces, everything was deliberately prepared. All this only suited the (ethnic) Albanians and those who supported them. This is not, I'm afraid, an epilogue and I'm afraid it will be only worse," the Serbian president said.

Vucic also condemned the killing of the Kosovar policeman and said that three ethnic Serbs were killed in clashes and that there is a possibility that one more may die.

Earlier, police said in a statement that a group of armed Serbs blocked a bridge leading to Banjska village, located near the city of Mitrovica, with two trucks lacking license plates.

A shootout erupted after the group opened fire on police who went to the scene to investigate the issue.

A large number of security forces were dispatched to the region, and the Brnjak border crossing point between Kosovo and Serbia was closed.

Serbia and Kosovo face many disputes as Belgrade sees its neighbor as its territory and has blocked its efforts to join international organizations and obtain recognition from other states.

The leaders of the two nations met in EU-facilitated talks in Brussels to normalize relations. But, the parties have so far struggled to implement the agreements reached.