Sawt Falasteen - Canal blast sparks new stand-off between Kosovo and Serbia

The explosion late Friday punched a hole in a canal providing water to hundreds of thousands of people and the cooling systems at two coal-fired power plants that generate most of Kosovo's electricity.

Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti immediately pointed the finger at arch-rival Serbia, calling the incident a "terrorist attack".

He went on to say that Belgrade was copyping the Russian "playbook" in Ukraine, trying to knock out power and heating in Kosovo during the frigid winter months.

"This is the reason why we raise the alarm over Russia's alliance with Serbia," said Kurti, as he highlighted the alleged seizure of Russian and Serbian military insignia during follow-up raids.

Serbia has been quick to hit back, with officials denying responsibility and saying the incident would be used as a pretext by the Pristina government to crack down on Serbs living in Kosovo.

Serbia and Kosovo, which has a large ethnic Albanian majority, have been at loggerheads since the end of a war in the late 1990s between Belgrade's forces and ethnic Albanian separatists in what was then a province of Serbia.

Serbia has never recognised Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence.

But tensions have been particularly high over the last year, centred on the fate of Kosovo's Serbian minority.

- 'Sophisticated' sabotage -

"If an investigation concludes Serbia's involvement, Kosovo may interpret it as an act of war, escalating tensions dramatically," Shpetim Gashi, an independent analyst based in Pristina, told AFP.

Others have said that the nature of the blast in Kosovo's restive north -- home to many of its ethnic Serbs -- points to a level of sophistication that would rule out amateur sabotage.

"Considering how much police presence and control there has been in the north, this suggests some level of sophisticated organisation," said political analyst Agon Maliqi.

"The targeting of critical infrastructure suggests awareness of large scale systemic impact," he added.

Observers have urged caution until an investigation provides definitive evidence identifying a culprit.

Jeffrey Hovenier, the US ambassador to Kosovo, said Monday that Washington was "not in a position to say who is behind the attack".

"It's early on and these things require careful investigation," he added.

The attack on the canal comes just months ahead of parliamentary elections in Kosovo, with Kurti hoping his hardline policies targeting Serbia will secure him another term.

Since taking office in 2021, Kurti has overseen wide-ranging moves to dismantle the parallel system backed by Belgrade to provide social and political services to Kosovo's Serbs -- including banning Serbia's currency, car licence plates, and closing its post offices and banks.

The policies have been regularly slammed by Belgrade, but also by Kosovo's closest diplomatic partners in the US and Europe, who have accused Kurti of recklessly escalating regional tensions.

"This was an opportunity for [Kurti] to highlight that the north is not fully under Kosovo's control," said Ognjen Gogic, a Belgrade-based political scientist.

"He can justify deploying the Kosovo Security Force to the north."

- 'Political boost' -

Meanwhile in Serbia, the explosion could be seen as a welcome distraction for those in power after a fresh wave of domestic discontent, analysts said.

President Aleksandar Vucic has faced a string of protests after 15 people died when a concrete roof collapsed at Novi Sad's train station on November 1.

Public outrage at the tragedy has sparked nationwide demonstrations, with many blaming the deaths on systemic corruption.

With both sides potentially benefiting from a new crisis, "the immediate impact is that security tensions return to the forefront of the agenda in both Kosovo and Serbia, giving a political boost to both leaders," said Maliqi.

M.AlAhmad--SF-PST