Ministry reacts to incidents south of Ibar

The Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija said on Monday that a Serb house had been set on fire in the eastern Kosovo city of Gnjilane. The ministry "demanded protection of Serbs south of the Ibar River". Ministry reacts to incidents south of Ibar The statement urged KFOR, EULEX and the interim Kosovo institutions to protect Serbs south of the Ibar from attacks of ethnic Albanian extremists and to guarantee safety of the people and their property. After the house, owned by Novica Cukic, was set on fire, the ministry addressed the international community via the release, saying something should be done urgently about the continued violence against Serbs south of the Ibar. The ministry said such incidents were frustrating efforts to ensure peace in Kosovo and that every act of violence should be condemned and dealt with immediately and resolutely. “Only in such a way can public order and peace be established in Kosovo and Metohija,” the release says. The act of setting fire to the house in Gnjilane shows that by trying to take over the Jarinje and Brnjak administrative checkpoints by force, the Kosovo Albanian authorities "set a bad example for the Albanian extremists who felt encouraged to use violence against the Serbs who live south of the Ibar River", said the statement. “This is yet another message from Albanian extremists showing what the Serbs who choose to return to their ancestral homes might expect,” the ministry said. Serbs in the north of the province form a majority population, while south of the Ibar they live in scattered and isolated enclaves.

Ministry reacts to incidents south of Ibar

The statement urged KFOR, EULEX and the interim Kosovo institutions to protect Serbs south of the Ibar from attacks of ethnic Albanian extremists and to guarantee safety of the people and their property.

After the house, owned by Novica Čukić, was set on fire, the ministry addressed the international community via the release, saying something should be done urgently about the continued violence against Serbs south of the Ibar.

The ministry said such incidents were frustrating efforts to ensure peace in Kosovo and that every act of violence should be condemned and dealt with immediately and resolutely.

“Only in such a way can public order and peace be established in Kosovo and Metohija,” the release says.

The act of setting fire to the house in Gnjilane shows that by trying to take over the Jarinje and Brnjak administrative checkpoints by force, the Kosovo Albanian authorities "set a bad example for the Albanian extremists who felt encouraged to use violence against the Serbs who live south of the Ibar River", said the statement.

“This is yet another message from Albanian extremists showing what the Serbs who choose to return to their ancestral homes might expect,” the ministry said.

Serbs in the north of the province form a majority population, while south of the Ibar they live in scattered and isolated enclaves.