Urgent announcement of the Diocese of Raška – Prizren regarding the armed conflict near Banjska monastery

The Diocese of Raska-Prizren strongly condemns the latest attack this morning in northern Kosovo, near the village of Banjska, in which a Kosovo police officer was killed and another one injured. This is a serious incident that can have major consequences, and therefore it is very important that everything is done to preserve order of peace and order. The Diocese extends its deepest condolences to family members of the slain policeman and sincerely hopes that the two wounded will recover as soon as possible.

The Diocese is very concerned because according to the latest information, a group of armed, masked men stormed the Banjska Monastery in an armored vehicle, breaking into the monastery’s locked gate. Currently, there is a group of pilgrims from Novi Sad in the monastery, together with the abbot, Father Danilo with monastic brotherhood.

For safety, the monastery’s brotherhood and pilgrims have locked themselves inside, and the monastery’s temple is also locked down. Armed masked men move around the courtyard and occasional gunshots are heard.

The Diocese strongly condemns the open violence being applied at the Serbian Orthodox Church religious facility, urging all sides to end the conflict as soon as possible.