From the Tablet, the Orthodox Church fighting for its life in Kosovo

The mysterious groups of arsonists who targeted almost every remaining Serbian enclave in Kosovo on 17-18 March seemed almost more determined to attack churches than houses. About 3,000 people in all were forced from their homes – perhaps 10 per cent of the Serbian population in Kosovo that lives south of the large enclave around north Mitrovica. But the Orthodox Church seems to have suffered disproportionately. Some 30 churches and monasteries were burned down almost to the ground while more than 40 were damaged. Given that many churches were torched in 1999, when Serbian forces withdrew from Kosovo after Nato’s air strikes, it marks another severe loss. The arsonists all but destroyed some significant medieval sites, including the convent at Devic, near Klina, and the Holy Archangels monastery, near Prizren.