A veteran and well-respected police officer and two Albanian brothers who lived near the border died in the shootout
TIRANA, Dec. 8 – A Greek police sergeant and two Albanian citizens died in an exchange of fire near the border between the two countries, police in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki said.
News of a shootout that killed a veteran and well-respected police officer and two Albanian brothers who lived near the border area has send shock and grief in both countries, local media report.
Police said a patrol of three policemen came across the Albanians at dawn Sunday while investigating an intrusion into the Greek territory by undocumented migrants. The two suspects were surprised at a shepherd’s hut whose owner was absent.
Police said the suspects were carrying an assault rifle with which one of them shot and killed the 43-year-old sergeant. Police say the assailant was killed and his accomplice was killed as he tried to reach for the gun.
The shooting occurred late Saturday when three police officers, who were investigating claims by local fishermen that gangs were stealing their fishing nets around Prespa Lake, approached a hut near the village of Vrontero, some 5 km from the border with Albania.
Investigation is under way to determine whether others were involved in the fight.
The family of the two dead Albanians told the media they do not believe the official version of the story.
They said that upon having the bodies of their dead members they saw they had fractured bones, a sign, they say, that the two were tortured before being shot dead. They said that the two brothers were very peaceful persons who went to nearby Greek territory just to fish and support their families.
Albanian officials scrutinized the dead bodies, as asked from the family, before they were taken to the funeral procession. An autopsy performed by Albanian authorities said there was no evidence to confirm the family’s suspicions.
The dead officer was not unknown in the Albanian village where the brothers originated and was widely respected by the local residents because he was raised just across the border and spoke Albanian well, village residents told Albanian media.
Despite the lifting of visas between Albania and most EU countries, including Greece, some Albanians continue cross the border illegally, as they have done for years, in order to find jobs in neighboring Greece. Others cross illegally for more nefarious reasons such as drugs and people smuggling.
