The Ministry for Kosovo-Metohija has requested today from the international community in the province to protect Kosovo Serbs south of the Ibar River from the violence caused by Albanian extremists and ensure their personal safety and security of their property.

The statement said that the robbery of nine houses of Serb returnees in the village of Babljak is the latest in a series of incidents and attacks on Serbs south of the Ibar River that occurred in the past month.

The target of attacks by Albanian extremists in recent months are the returnee with an obvious aim to discourage Serbs who have returned or those who intend to return, in a move to fully stop the return of the exiled to the province.

The Ministry for Kosovo-Metohija has repeatedly drawn attention to the international community to problems of returnees, but nothing has been done to improve the position and provide security and normal life for the returnees.

The Ministry for Kosovo-Metohija calls on EULEX and KFOR to take the attacks on Serbs south of the Ibar seriously and to protect them, because interim authorities in Pristina are unable to ensure the safety of the Serbian community.

Dacic: Operation ROSU – dangerous play with fire

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic has assessed today's operation of the Kosovo police special units as a dangerous play with fire that may have catastrophic consequences.

Dacic said that it is incomprehensible that the international community in Kosovo and Metohija are not responding to daily provocations of the Pristina authorities aimed at violent occupation of northern Kosovo, and once again flaring up of regional instability.

This is the case with today's operation of special units in order to try to speed of invasion aimed at checkpoints at administrative border crossings between Kosovo and central Serbia, and the speed with which the Serbs in northern Kosovo, will respond, said Dacic.

He said that Serbia is committed to dialogue and peaceful solution in the interests of both Serbs and Albanians.