At least four people are dead following a gunfight between ethnic Serb gunmen in armored vehicles and local police in Kosovo during a monastery siege on Sunday.

The gunmen allegedly stormed a village in north Kosovo and barricaded themselves inside a monastery in a resurgence of violence in the restive north. The incident centered on a Serbian Orthodox monastery near the village of Banjska in the Serb-majority region.

Kosovo Monastery Siege

Authorities from Kosovo and Serbia said that one police officer and three gunmen died in the firefight. Ethnic Albanians comprise the vast majority of the roughly 1.8 million population of Kosovo, a former province of Serbia.

However, roughly 50,000 Serbs in the north have never accepted Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2018. They still see Belgrade as their capital after more than two decades following a Kosovo Albanian guerilla uprising against repressive Serbian rule, as per Reuters.

The incident occurred after a group of Kosovo Serbs positioned trucks on a bridge into the village and shot at police who tried to approach them. The Kosovo police and Serbian President Aleksandr Vucic said the battle moved to the nearby monster.

The Serb gunmen allegedly left the monastery when evening came, but it was still unclear where their next destination was. Vucic noted that the gunmen's actions were considered a rebellion against Kurti, who had refused to form an association with Serb municipalities in north Kosovo.

Officials noted that two Serbs were seriously injured while a fourth among the gunmen may have died, said Vucic. The president also condemned the killing of the police officer and urged restraint from Kosovo Serbs.

In a statement, Kosovo's minister of internal affairs, Xhelal Svecla, said that they could put the territory under control after several consecutive battles. Following the incident, Belgrade and Pristina were quick to throw blame at each other, according to BBC.

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At Least 4 Dead

Svecla also noted that police officers made several arrests during the operation and were able to seize a large amount of weapons and equipment. The incident marks one of the gravest escalations in Kosovo in the last few years and follows months of rising tension between Pristina and Belgrade.

Kosovo's prime minister, Albin Kurti, said that Serbia-sponsored criminals were responsible for the incursion. He said they were "professionals, with military and police background," who he claims were financed and motivated by Belgrade.

In response, Vucic blamed Kurti for several months of "provocations." The Kosovo prime minister then described the death of the Kosovo police officer as "absolutely reprehensible" and bore responsibility for the incident.

The Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) said the monastery was calm and the police controlled the situation. It added that the Raska Prizren Diocese (SOC) was informing the public that the situation at the Banjska monastery was already stable.

On Sunday, the foreign policy chief of the European Union, Josep Borrell, issued a statement condemning the attack. The official also called for a de-escalation of the situation in the region, said CNN.

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