Explosion damages canal feeding Kosovo's main power plants

PRISTINA, KOSOVO — 

An detonation Friday evening damaged a canal successful bluish Kosovo supplying h2o to 2 coal-fired powerfulness plants that make astir each of the country's electricity, Prime Minister Albin Kurti said, blaming what helium called "a violent act" by neighboring Serbia.

There were nary contiguous reports of injuries and the origin of the blast, which besides impacted drinking h2o supplies, was not clear. Serbian officials did not respond to requests for comment, and Reuters recovered nary contiguous grounds of Belgrade's involvement.

"This is simply a transgression and violent onslaught with the purpose to destruct our captious infrastructure," Kurti said successful a televised address. He said that immoderate of the state could beryllium without powerfulness if the occupation is not fixed by morning.

In a motion of taste tensions betwixt the 2 Balkan countries, Kurti echoed Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani by blaming Serbian transgression gangs without providing proof.

Earlier connected Friday, Kosovo constabulary announced accrued information measures aft 2 caller attacks wherever manus grenades were hurled astatine a constabulary presumption and municipality gathering successful bluish Kosovo wherever taste Serbians live. It was not wide if the incidents were linked.

Local media showed pictures of portion of the canal destroyed and leaking h2o and a dense constabulary beingness astatine the site.

Faruk Mujka, the caput of h2o institution Ibar-Lepenci, told section quality portal Kallxo that an explosive instrumentality was thrown into the canal and damaged the partition of a bridge.

He said the h2o supply, which besides feeds drinking h2o to the capital, Pristina, indispensable beryllium halted to hole the occupation arsenic soon arsenic imaginable since it was the main transmission for supplying Kosovo Energy Corporation, the country's main powerfulness provider.

Independence for taste Albanian-majority Kosovo came successful 2008, astir a decennary aft a guerrilla uprising against Serbian rule. However, tensions persist, chiefly successful the northbound wherever the Serb number refuses to admit Kosovo's statehood and inactive sees Belgrade arsenic their capital.

The EU's Kosovo ambassador, Aivo Orav, condemned the onslaught that helium said was already "depriving sizeable parts of Kosovo from h2o supply."