Kosovo parliament evacuated over bomb hoax

BELGRADE

Authorities in Kosovo evacuated the parliament building on Saturday due to a bomb hoax during a session to elect a new speaker.

Lawmakers entered the parliament building in the morning to resume the 42nd session of the General Assembly, which has been running since April 15 due to the failure to elect a new speaker.

Following a bomb threat, parliamentary security units evacuated lawmakers and journalists from the building.

"The Kosovo Police, in coordination with the relevant prosecutor's office, conducted necessary checks and inspections at the scene with bomb disposal experts and other units," the police said in a statement.

Arben Loshi, acting secretary general of the parliament, told local media that an English-speaking person had called to report that a bomb had been planted in the building and would detonate within 10 minutes.

"It is completely absurd. This could have been an intentional call to keep lawmakers away from parliament. No normal person would attack parliament," said Time Kadrijaj, a lawmaker from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK).

The alarm was false, according to Chief Prosecutor Zejnullah Gashi of the Pristina Basic Prosecution, who also said that nothing significant was discovered at the scene. “We are looking into the origin of the call, which was made in English by a male voice with what appears to be an accent from an unfriendly country."

Following the incident, the parliamentary session was postponed to 8 pm local time.

The President’s Office is located in the same building as the parliament.