High explosive discovered near a gas pipeline in Serbia. Viktor Orbán called an emergency defense council
Serbian authorities announced the discovery of suspicious objects near a gas pipeline, in the area of the villages of Velebit, Trešnjevac and Vojvode Zimonić in Kanjiža commune, according to the Tanjug agency.
Serbian police blocked off the area/PHOTO:X
About 140 soldiers and policemen have been mobilized, and field verification operations are ongoing.
Sources cited by Tanjug state that, based on the approval of the Superior Prosecutor's Office in Subotica, units of the judicial police, together with the Military Police and other structures of the Serbian army, have been carrying out an operation to block and search an area in Kanjiža since the early hours of the morning. The goal is to identify prohibited materials considered dangerous to the life of the population and critical infrastructure in the region.
Several roads in the commune were blocked by law enforcement. Among them are the routes between Trešnjevac and Vojvode Zimonić, as well as between Vojvode Zimonić and Velebit. Local witnesses reported that helicopters supporting the aerial operation could also be heard in the area.
Police and military are carrying out checks both on the ground and from the air in a coordinated operation.
Viktor Orbán called an emergency meeting of the defense council
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán called an emergency meeting of the Defense Council after the explosive was discovered near a critical gas infrastructure linking Serbia to Hungary.
On social networks, Orbán announced that he spoke by phone with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, being informed about the ongoing situation. According to him, the Serbian authorities would have found a powerful explosive device and the necessary means for detonation.
Aleksandar Vučić: the investigation is ongoing
The Serbian president said that investigations are ongoing in the Kanjiža area, where two large packages of explosives have been identified, and that the authorities are awaiting a legal qualification from prosecutors.
He said intelligence services and law enforcement are looking into possible leads, but some of them could be false. Vučić emphasized that the state institutions treat the situation with utmost seriousness.
According to his statements, additional protection measures have been taken for the energy infrastructure, including compression stations and control points in several regions of the country.
The President stated that the main objective of the authorities is to prevent any incident and protect the population, while the investigation continues to establish the exact circumstances and possible responsibilities.
