Fires on boudary with Kosovo under control

KURŠUMLIJA -- Fires burning on several points along the administrative line with Kosovo have been put under control.

Firefighting teams from Kraljevo, Kruševac, Prokuplje and Blace that joined in the battle against raging blazes over the past several days, have been deployed in the region between Kuršumlija and Podujevo municipalities, on alert to intervene should fires continue to spread.

The fires along the administrative boundary have engulfed several kilometes along the line between Serbia proper and Kosovo in the past week.

Locals from Kuršumlija’s villages near the boundary said that the blazes originated from the Kosovo side of the line and spread onto Serbia proper.

The extinguishing was difficult due to the inaccesible terrain and security concerns. While firefighters were attempting to put out the fire last week, shots were reportedly fired from nearby Albanian villages.

“For this reasons the extinguishing took longer than expected,” Assistant Interior Minister Predrag Marić said Friday.

Several hundreds of hectares of wood burned along with structures in six households and a school in the Tačevac village.

Forestry directorate Srbijašume Chief in the region Branislav Prolović said Friday that the fires that broke out in the area in the past couple of days were deliberately started by arsonists.