A tourist from North Macedonia, Goran Tanevski, who experienced the attack on September 24, 2023, in Banjska, Zvecan, suffered severe psychological trauma.
Tanevski testified on Wednesday in the trial over the Banjskë attack against the accused Blagoje Spasojevic, Vladimir Tolic, and Dushan Maksimovic.
Special Prosecutor Naim Abazi asked the witness if he had overcome the anxiety he experienced during the attack, and Tanevski said he still faces psychological problems.
“I still have such problems,” he said.
Prosecutor Abazi asked whether, during his visit to Banjska with his family, he noticed any people who did not look like tourists.
Tanevski said that on the morning of the attack, he had not seen anyone who looked like a tourist, but during the attack, gunfire could be heard, and he then saw uniformed people around the hotel—two outside and one inside—all armed.
“Until that morning, I had not seen anyone who looked like a tourist. On the day it happened, gunfire could be heard. We could not see anyone clearly, but that morning we saw uniformed people around the hotel, and one was inside the hotel. The people outside, we saw two in uniform, unmarked, and armed. The one inside, we could only see the rifle, not the uniform, because we were downstairs and he was searching for blankets or something similar. Under the window where we were located, from my perspective, there could have been ammunition or a bomb,” he added.
Recalling the critical day, the witness said that one of the uniformed persons requested a sheet, which his wife gave him, and later the guests were instructed to stay in their rooms and not leave the hotel.
“He asked for a sheet. When he did, I was in another part of the room, and my wife gave him a blanket. Regarding the restriction to rooms, there was nothing formal—just a request to stay in the room because someone wanted to go out. We started to leave, but were told to return to the hotel. Someone on the hotel floor told us. I wanted to go out to see my vehicle, but someone told us to return. I believe it was one of the uniformed people because he had a weapon with him,” he said.
According to his testimony, they hid in the basement for several hours because of gunfire and explosions outside the hotel. When the shooting stopped, the guests returned to their rooms.
“The difficulties were initially due to the gunfire and explosions outside the hotel. Then, the next morning, when we saw the uniformed people, we decided to hide in the basement. We stayed there 2–3 hours, then the shooting stopped for a while, and we returned to the room,” he said.
Tanevski said the incident has left severe psychological effects on him and his family, emphasizing that since that day he decided not to visit Kosovo again.
He cannot forget the terror he experienced on September 24, 2023, feeling responsible for what his family went through and fearing for their lives. His greatest concern was his child, who has autism.
Tanevski added that his family left on Monday under the protection of the Kosovo Police.
“Since that day, I decided never to come to Kosovo again. I can never forget what happened that day. I sent them there to relax, and I felt responsible for what they experienced. Even now, when I remember, I feel stress, insecurity, and fear. At 3:00 p.m., we heard gunfire and explosions. This continued until the day ended. We feared being hit by a bullet. When daylight came, we saw soldiers outside with weapons, and the shooting continued. When the gunfire stopped, I contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was told it was not safe to go. All day we were unsure whether to leave. We went on Monday morning under the escort of the Kosovo Police. That whole time caused stress and fear. I have a child with autism who was there; I don’t know if you realize what that means,” he said.
So far, those arrested and in pre-trial detention for this case are Blagoje Spasojevic, Vladimir Tolic, and Dushan Maksimovic, for whom the criminal procedure is ongoing.
On September 11, 2024, the Special Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Kosovo filed an indictment against Milan Radoic and 44 others for the terrorist attack on September 24, 2023, in Banjskë, Zvecan.
The accused are charged with attempting, through armed violence, to detach the northern part of Kosovo and attach it to the Republic of Serbia, in which incident a Kosovo Police officer, Afrim Bunjaku, was killed.
