Local authorities claim the intervention over the controversial monument was a legally backed municipal removal order, while Pristina-backed forces intervened when municipal leaders attempted to spray-paint it.
Ethno-political tensions in Kosovo’s flashpoint northern municipality flared up sharply on Friday morning, June 5, 2026, culminating in the direct police detention of the city’s top leadership.
The Mayor of North Mitrovica, Milan Radojević, alongside the Chairman of the Municipal Assembly, Ivan Zaporožac, were intercepted and escorted to a local police station by the Kosovo Police following a tense confrontation in the town center over a controversial public installation.
The Incident: Red Spray Paint vs. Municipal Decree
The clash centers on the “E dua Mitrovicën” (I Love Mitrovica) obelisk, an installation that has long drawn friction from local Serb politicians who view it as a political symbol pushed by central authorities in Pristina.
[Late May 2026] ──► Assembly passes resolution to legally dismantle the obelisk
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[June 5, 11:00 AM] ──► Municipal Inspectors arrive to execute the removal order
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[Escalation on Site] ─► Mayor Radojević attempts to spray-paint the green heart RED
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[Police Intervention] ─► Kosovo Police units move in, detaining Radojević & Zaporožac
Eyewitness accounts and video footage from the scene show Kosovo Police units moving in dynamically when Mayor Radojević pulled out a can of red spray paint and attempted to coat the landmark’s prominent green heart.
Opposing Narratives: Vandalism or Sovereign Municipal Law?
The incident highlights a deeper institutional breakdown between local North Mitrovica municipal structures (led by Serbian representatives) and the centralized Kosovo Police forces.
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Contrasting Stances on the Mitrovica Landmark Clash │
├───────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┤
│ CENTRAL POLICE / PRISTINA OUTLOOK │ NORTH MITROVICA MUNICIPAL DEFENSE │
├───────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│ • Action treated as an attempted │ • The removal was a planned, lawful│
│ act of public vandalism. │ execution by City Inspectors. │
│ • Intervention triggered when a │ • The Municipal Assembly formally │
│ public figure altered property. │ voted to scrap the sign in May. │
│ • Asserts police authority to │ • Accuses police of overstepping │
│ maintain order on the ground. │ boundaries to protect a symbol. │
└───────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────┘
Serbian-language media platforms broadcasting from northern Kosovo quickly countered the vandalism narrative. They stated that the North Mitrovica Municipal Assembly had formally voted and approved a legislative resolution in late May 2026 to completely remove the installation. According to local officials, the Kosovo Police had been officially notified well in advance that municipal inspectors would be clearing the site today.
Awaiting Official Police Clarification
Veton Elshani, the Deputy Police Director for the Northern Region, later confirmed the detentions to domestic reporters, noting that the incident was tied directly to a confrontation during a Municipal Inspectorate operation.
The incident adds to an ongoing string of administrative and physical standoffs in the north, where local municipal leadership claims central police forces are consistently overstepping their authority to strip the separate municipality of its legal, executive powers.
