Several towns in Kosovo were left without water after yesterday’s explosion in the village of Varage in the Zubin Potok municipality, which damaged the Ibar-Lepenc canal.
This canal, which supplies several towns with water from Lake Gazivode, also supplies water to the thermal power plant and is used to cool the units, so several Kosovo municipalities are also having problems with electricity supply. The consequences of the attack were explained to “Avaz” by Nexhmedin Spahiu, a university professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Pristina, who says that the whole of Kosovo is currently facing a lack of sufficient electricity.
“Electricity is not completely cut off, because in order to maintain the system, water is transported by tankers to cool the thermal power plant. If this continues, it will be problematic to maintain the system until the destroyed canal is repaired. The Ibar-Lepenc canal supplies water to half of the towns in Kosovo, including Kosovska Mitrovica and Pristina, as well as the Obilic thermal power plant. This was an attempt to leave the whole of Kosovo without water and electricity,” says Spahiu.
The Kosovo government and police have characterized this event as a terrorist act for which they have accused Serbia. A large-scale police operation has been underway in several Serbian villages since this morning, in which several people have been arrested, while Serbia denies any involvement, calls on international partners to help with the investigation, and offers assistance in repairing the damage.
“According to the information we have so far, about 15 kilograms of explosives were used in the attack, which cannot be found on the black market, but only in the army. That is why it is suspected that it came from Serbia. However, an escalation in Kosovo cannot occur. This is precisely why terrorist attacks occur. When Serbia controlled northern Kosovo, this did not happen, but after Albin Kurti came to power and expelled Serbia from Kosovo, the only thing left is a terrorist act like this,” Professor Spahiu points out.
The explosion near Zubin Potok was also condemned by the embassies of the US, France, and Italy in Pristina, stating that the case should be investigated and those responsible brought to justice. EU Special Envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajčák also said that those responsible for sabotaging Kosovo’s critical infrastructure must be held accountable.
Photo: Avaz
