A person was arrested after a gunman shot and wounded two Serbs, one an 11-year-old youngster, in Kosovo on Friday, Orthodox Christmas Eve, police there stated, sparking protests.

Kosovo police stated in an announcement that that they had arrested “a 33-year-old man” in southern Kosovo, who Defence Minister Armend Mehaj said the man was a member of the security forces.

Shortly after the shooting incident, local Serbs blocked traffic on a regional road in protest, Serbian national television (RTS) reported.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti denounced “in the strongest terms… the attack on two citizens of Kosovo”.

A former Serbian province, Kosovo declared independence in 2008, however though recognised by a lot of the worldwide neighborhood, Serbia has by no means accepted the declaration.

The taking pictures happened close to the small southern city of Strpce, which is predominantly populated by the Serb minority.

Two cousins, an 11-year-old and a 21-year-old, have been shot from a automobile that fled the scene, stated officers. The lives of the 2 weren’t in hazard, police stated.

They had been carrying oak branches, a convention for Orthodox Serbs on Christmas Eve, in response to an announcement from the Serbian authorities’s Kosovo workplace.

“This is an apparent try and homicide”, the statement said.

Kosovo police did not release the identity of the assailant.

“Suspect A.K. will be treated according to the rules and the law,” Mehaj posted on his Facebook account.

Tensions between Belgrade and Pristina usually run excessive.

The scenario worsened in December when tons of of Serbs arrange roadblocks on the roads main to 2 border crossings with Serbia for a fortnight.

The Serbian military was positioned on excessive alert, whereas Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic described the scenario then as “on the point of armed battle”.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, after a bitter war in late 1990s.

But Belgrade still refuses to recognise it, encouraging Kosovo’s 120,000 ethnic Serbs to defy Pristina’s authority — especially in the north where they make up the majority.

Kosovo’s 1.8 million population is predominantly made up of ethnic Albanians.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is printed from a syndicated information company feed)