The Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija (KiM) said in a release Monday a Serb house had been set on fire in the eastern Kosovo city of Gnjilane on the same day and demanded protection of Serbs south of the Ibar River.

The Ministry for KiM demanded from KFOR, EULEX and the interim Kosovo institutions to protect Serbs south of the Ibar from attacks of ethnic Albanian extremists and to guarantee safety of the people and their property.

After the house, owned by Novica Cukic, a Serb from Gnjilane, was set on fire, the Ministry for KiM addressed the international community via the release, saying something should be done urgently about the continued violence against Serbs south of the Ibar.

The ministry said such incidents were frustrating efforts to ensure peace in KiM and that every act of violence should be condemned and dealt with immediately and resolutely.

“Only in such a way can public order and peace be established in Kosovo and Metohija,” the release says.

The act of setting fire to the house in Gnjilane shows that by trying to take over the Jarinje and Brnjak administrative checkpoints by force, the Kosovo authorities have set a bad example for the Albanian extremists who felt encouraged to use violence against the Serbs who live south of the Ibar River.

“This is yet another message from Albanian extremists showing what the Serbs who choose to return to their ancestral homes might expect,” the ministry said.