Two Serb churches in Kosovo and Metohija destroyed in explosions

PRISTINA , Nov 17 (Tanjug) - Two Serb churches were destroyed in explosions Saturday night and early Sunday in the Pec area in Metohija, UN spokesman in Pristina Andrea Angelli said Sunday.

One of the churches was in the Djurakovac village, 60 km west of Pristina, and the other near Istok, Angelli said, noting that no one was injured in the explosions.

Head of the Coordinating Center for Kosovo-Metohija Nebojsa Covic has most strongly condemned the latest destruction of Orthodox churches in Djurakovac and Istok. In a statement to Tanjug, Covic noted that the two churches had been guarded until recently by Spanish KFOR troops, but that the guards were withdrawn under the unrealistic pretext that security in Kosovo has improved.

Over 138 Orthodox places of worship in Kosovo-Metohija have been downed so far, but not a single culprit has been apprehended or prosecuted. "What kind of security are we talking about?", Covic said.

UNMIK spokeswoman Susan Manuel has told Tanjug that the head of the UN mission in Kosovo-Metohija Michael Steiner will visit, probably Sunday afternoon, the sites of the two Serb churches destroyed in explosions in Metohija.

Referring to the blasts late Saturday and early Sunday, Manuel expressed her most sincere regret at the disgusting acts of violence aimed against civilization.

Member of the Serb National Council (SNV) of northern Kosovo Marko Jaksic told Tanjug Sunday that the destruction of Serb churches clearly demonstrates what ethnic Albanians think about the return of displaced Serbs to the province.

Until the arrival of KFOR and UNMIK, there had been 400 Serb families in Djurakovac and 500 in Istok. The destruction of their churches is a clear message that they will not be welcome back, Jaksic said.

The Raska-Prizren Eparchy most strongly condemned Sunday the terrorist attacks, and demanded that UNMIK and KFOR investigate the crime and bring the culprits to justice.

The attacks on two churches in one night demonstrates once again that ethnic Albanian extremists want to erase the last traces of the Serb people, their culture and history, in Kosovo-Metohija, the Eparchy said in a statement.