PRISTINA: Kosovo arrested several suspects on Saturday after an explosion at a key canal feeding two of its main power plants, while neighbouring Serbia rejected accusations of staging the blast.

The explosion on Friday near the town of Zubin Potok, which sits in an ethnic Serb-dominated area in Kosovo’s troubled north, damaged a canal that supplies water to hundreds of thousands of people and cooling systems at two coal-fired power plants that generate most of Kosovo’s electricity.

As security forces swarmed the area around the canal, whose concrete walls were left with a gaping hole gushing water, Prime Minister Albin Kurti visited the site and announced authorities had arrested several people.

Law enforcement “carried out searches” and “collected testimony and evidence, and the criminals and terrorists will have to face justice and the law,” he said. The arrests follow a security meeting, when Kurti pointed the finger at Serbia.

“The attack was carried out by professionals. We believe it comes from gangs directed by Serbia,” he told a press conference, without providing evidence.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic hit back, denying the “irresponsible” and “baseless accusations”. “Such unfounded claims are aimed to tarnish Serbia’s reputation, as well as to undermine efforts to promote peace and stability in the region,” he said in a statement.

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric had earlier suggested on X that the Kosovar “regime” could itself be behind the blast, calling for an international investigation.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2024