Serb Homes in Kosovo Torched

Two houses owned by Serbs burned to the ground late Friday night near Klina in the central part of Kosovo, Kosovo police reported, adding that the fires were caused by arson, but motives are still unknown and the investigation is still underway.

When the homes were torched, nobody was in them, so there were no casualties, Kosovo police spokesman Arber Beka said, adding that regional police and fore brigades immediately responded to the call about the fires.

Ethnically motivated arson

Although neither the perpetrators nor the motive of the torching of the homes are known, the local Serbs said this incident was ethnically motivated and accused neighbouring Albanians of continuing their intimidation tactics to drive out Serbs from Kosovo.

The village near Klina had the greatest wave of returnees with 55 Serb families currently living there. Until 1999, in the Klina municipality, almost 7,000 Serbs lived there.

The multi-ethnic municipality of Klina has been a good example of co-existence in Kosovo where dislocated Serbs are returning. Kosovo institutions said recently that favourable conditions have been created for another 22 Serb families to come back to that area.