Istog/Istok

US Ambassador to Kosovo Jeffrey Hovenier (l), Istog/Istok Mayor Ilir Ferati (c) and Minister for Communities and Returns Nenad Rasic (r), visit the burned house in Veriq/Veric on July 11, 2023. Photo: Ilir Ferati/Facebook.

Driton Rugova, police spokesperson for Peje/Pec region, told BIRN that Svetislav Veric's house suffered material damages from the fire set by unknown persons.

In Montenegro, heavy rain in the towns of Pljevlja, Mojkovac and Rozaje blocked roads due to rising water levels and landslides. The Interior Ministry said its Protection and Rescue Office was in constant communication with local authorities, adding that the army is on standby if the situation worsens.

Kosovo Police announced on Friday that a Serb has been arrested near the western town of Istog/Istok for allegedly committing a war crime against the civilian population.

"After an investigative work from the War Crimes Investigative Unit, police identified and arrested a Serb for war crimes against civilian population in Kosovo during 1998-1999," a police statement said.

Kosovo police officer stands at the entrance of the Agency for Development of Agriculture on a raid on February 24, 2021. Photo: BIRN

Confirming the arrests, Chief Prosecutor Aleksander Lumezi said that 10 of them are officials and two are ordinary citizens.

Acting President Vjosa Osmani paid tribute at Ibrahim Rugova's memorial in Pristina, saying that the path that he paved "remains a permanent guideline" for Kosovo.

From Paris student to campaigner for Albanian rights

Rugova in Pristina in April 1998. Photo: EPA/SRDJAN SUKI.

War victims' groups and Pristina-based rights campaigners criticised recent attempts by MPs in Pristina to revoke a law which allows the new Kosovo Specialist Chambers to operate.

The president of the Association of Missing and Kidnapped Persons from Kosovo and Metohija, Ranko Djinovic, said that repealing the law would be an "injustice".