Serb homes robbed, set on fire in Kosovo

Source: Tanjug

GNJILANE -- Two houses owned by Serbis in the village of Cernica near Gnjilane were robbed and set on fire last night, it has been confirmed.

A Kosovo police (KPS) spokesperson told Tanjug news agency that nobody was inside the buildings during the incident.

But Ismet Hasani "could not say what caused the fire", adding that it was promptly put out by firemen.

The spokesperson however noted that KPS units investigated the scene "and opened the case".

Local Serb media in that part of the province are reporting that the homes belonged to Ljubiša Spasić and Stanko Stanojević, who currently live and work in Switzerland along with their families.

Cernica resident Srđan Menković said the homes were first robbed, while the fire "most likely came later and was the work of arsonists".

"Almost everything was taken from the houses, they stole everything. It is getting worse by the day, robberies are ever more frequent, while police either cannot or will not do anything about it," said Milenković.

Some 150 Serb families lived in the village prior to the war in 1999, while only about 30 remain today.