Wagner Group Symbols Spotted in Northern Kosovo Amidst Protests

On Wednesday, amidst the protests in Leposavic, some people were observed wearing T-shirts displaying the insignia of the Russian band “Wagner”.

Adelina Ahmeti, a journalist at BIRN, explained on “Kallxo Përnime” that BIRN managed to capture footage of two individuals wearing clothing adorned with Wagner symbols. Ahmeti stated, “Four individuals, wearing clothing featuring Wagner group insignia, exited a car with Belgrade license plates and stopped near the municipality of Leposavic. There, we were able to film two of them…”

Meanwhile, Nuredin Ibishi, a security expert, stated on “Kallxo Përnime” that Wagner has been designated as a terrorist organization by the US State Department and the Government of Kosovo.

Wagner is a private military company primarily based in Russia. This group first gained notoriety in 2014 during the war in Donbas, Ukraine, and their activities have elements of right-wing extremism and nationalism.

In 2021, the Council of the European Union approved a series of restrictive measures against the Wagner group.

Kreshnik Gashi, editor-in-chief at KALLXO.com, emphasized the need to avoid promoting logos of organizations declared as terrorist in Kosovo.

Gashi stated, “Individuals wearing such T-shirts should be arrested or, at the very least, stopped by the police and asked to remove them. I fail to understand why there was no reaction towards these individuals.”

The Wagner insignia has been encountered multiple times in northern Kosovo.

On the other hand, social media posts circulated on Wednesday, calling on Albanian citizens to participate in an alleged mass protest.

The police announced that these posts were shared by different individuals and profiles. The posts indicated that the protest would commence on Thursday at 12 o’clock in South Mitrovica, with a possible intention to march in northern Kosovo.

“We would like to clarify that, based on evaluations by security institutions, it has been determined that many of these profiles are suspicious, and the posts may have malicious intent, to the detriment of the citizens and the interests of the Republic of Kosovo,” stated the Police.

Kosovo’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Sveçla, also reacted on Facebook, urging all citizens not to respond to these suspicious calls and anonymous organizations.

On Thursday, a BIRN source within the Kosovo Police confirmed that an investigation has been launched to identify the instigator of this protest warning.

On Thursday, dozens of citizens gathered in “Isa Boletini” square in South Mitrovica as a sign of protest against the situation in the northern part of the country.

The citizens appealed to Kosovo’s allies to take action and restore normality in the north. They sang and protested while the Kosovo Police maintained order./PI/