Blast damages canal feeding power plants in Kosovo; PM Kurti blames Serbia

In Varage, laborers are near the damaged canal in northern Kosovo that supplies water to two coal-fired power plants, which generate nearly all of the country's electricity. (Photo/Reuters)

An explosion has damaged a canal supplying water to Kosovo's two main coal-fired power plants, Prime Minister Albin Kurti said, blaming a "terrorist attack" by neighbouring Serbia.

"This is a criminal and terrorist attack aimed at damaging our critical infrastructure", Kurti told a press conference late Friday.

"The attack was carried out by professionals. We believe it comes from gangs directed by Serbia," he added.

The blast, which hit a canal supplying water to cooling systems at two power plants that supply most of Kosovo's electricity, occurred near the town of Zubin Potok in the country's north.

If the damage is not repaired, part of Kosovo could be without electricity as early as Saturday morning, the prime minister said.

He gave no details about the extent of the damage to the canal, which runs from the Serb-majority north of Kosovo to the capital Pristina and also supplies drinking water.

The EU's Kosovo ambassador, Aivo Orav, condemned the attack that he said was already "depriving considerable parts of Kosovo of water supply".

Ethnic tensions

Faruk Mujka, the head of the water company Ibar-Lepenci, told local news portal Kallxo that an explosive device was thrown into the canal and damaged the wall of a bridge.

He said the water supply, which also feeds drinking water to the capital Pristina, must be halted to fix the problem as soon as possible since it was the main channel for supplying Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK), the country's main power provider.

Earlier on Friday, Kosovo police announced increased security measures after two recent attacks where hand grenades were hurled at a police station and municipality building in northern Kosovo, where ethnic Serbians live.

Independence for Kosovo came in 2008, almost a decade an uprising against Serbian rule.

However, tensions persist, mainly in the north, where the Serb minority refuses to recognise Kosovo's statehood and still sees Belgrade as their capital.

____

Source: TRT