18 murders in Kosovo during 2025, experts talk about the motives

Last year, 18 murders were recorded in Kosovo. Security experts have raised concerns about the motives for these cases, which are linked to organized crime and illegal activities.

Four people were killed in one day in August last year. A triple murder in Gjilan, and another in Prizren, were cases that shocked the entire country.

The main suspect in the triple murder in Gjilan, Mefail Shkodra, has a criminal record, including for usury. The incident occurred in a cafe near the municipality of Gjilan, where a father and son were killed in a gunfight and a little later another person was seriously injured.

The other murder case that occurred within 24 hours in August 2025 was a stabbing in the village of Zhur, Prizren.

Another murder was recorded in Hajvali, Pristina, during August. In the same month, in the village of Baicë, Lipjan, a person was found dead and buried in a field in this village.

Another murder that shocked Kosovo last year was the murder of Kosovo Police Sergeant Muhamed Lika, who was killed at the entrance to his apartment in Kaçanik.

A few days ago, an indictment was filed against six defendants for the murder of Lika.

The Director General of the Kosovo Police, Gazmend Hoxha, told KosovaPress in an interview that Mefail Shkodra and the boys had a suspicious criminal past.

"In the case of the last murder, we have serious, for example, what we are talking about in the case of Gjilan, where three people were killed. People with suspicious criminal pasts, whom we have had in the proceedings, we have arrested for usury cases, and then in the meantime they have been released due to the limited procedures that Kosovo currently has under this law.

"We have been investigating, handling the case and we have arrested the main suspect, he was arrested by the Kosovo Police six months earlier. Sometimes it seems that there are three or four murder cases happening in a week. But when you look at the total number of murders, that is, there is a decrease in murders and punishable criminal acts that have occurred in Kosovo in recent years," says Hoxha.

He further said that it is impossible to prevent all these murder cases.

"Kosovo started its post-war life in 2000 with 260 murders. Then it moved to 170, 158, 130, 150. Last year [2024] we had only 17 reported murders. This year [2025] we have 18. That is, the decline is very rapid compared to where we were and where we are, but it is impossible to prevent all cases of murder or serious cases because the police cannot be everywhere, in every place, in every apartment, in every bar, on every street, in every corner, or we cannot have any police force in the world, no matter how organized, no matter how professional, to get into someone's criminal mind.

"The good thing about our cases is that many of the cases that have been reported in recent years are problems that have been either in the family, or property problems, or problems that have actually had previous conflicts and then they clashed and the murder occurred," he states.

The director of the Kosovo Center for Security Studies (KCSS), Mentor Vrajolli, considers the motives for the murders in Kosovo to be worrying.

"Mainly, there have been different motives for the murders. Those that have been perhaps more worrying than a certain number of murders have been related to organized crime and illegal activities, and unfortunately we are still facing such problems, especially these usury, are one of the prominent problems that have been reported and a murder that has been the most talked about during this year [2025]. So, I think that law and order institutions should focus on reducing these criminal activities in particular, in order to ensure that we do not have situations like the one in Gjilan," he says.

According to him, mechanisms should be created that guarantee citizens that they can report without being identified by the perpetrators.

"I think we need to look at where the problem is that cases of these usury are not reported to the extent that they should be reported. Is there a problem that perhaps within the structures of security institutions there are elements involved in these activities or close to people who deal with these activities, which makes these people who are victims of these crimes not dare to report them to law and order institutions?"

"This means that it is the first part that must be ensured. Mechanisms must also be created that make it easier for these citizens to report these cases without being noticed by the perpetrators of these cases, because these are usually people who threaten through violence and can often become such victims," ​​adds Vrajolli, among other things.

Security expert Avni Islami also raises concerns about the possession of a large number of illegal weapons by citizens.

"The number of weapons is extremely large in the hands of citizens, whether it be weapons that can be licensed and given permission, or even combat weapons such as Kalashnikovs and others, weapons that kill, can kill people en masse. Therefore, as in previous years, it is good, it would be in order for state institutions to start once again and I believe that every year there should have been an amnesty.

And all those weapons that can be identified, can be licensed and the designated training for the head of the family and whoever, be stockpiled and not misused. As for the weapons that are not licensed, that is, no permission is given for them, a form should be found to subsidize those who still possess weapons from the war, a form of subsidy should be found and encourage them to hand over those weapons", he concludes.

We recall that, during 2024, 17 murders were recorded in Kosovo. /KP/