Djuric: Jihadists reach Kosovo-Metohija

BELGRADE - Marko Djuric, head of the Serbian government's Office for Kosovo-Metohija, stated on Tuesday that fundamentalist ideology of the Islamic State has penetrated the pores of the society in the region.

This is confirmed by the fact that the ones who are identified as followers of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Kosovo-Metohija have called for the establishment of a caliphate, Djuric said for Belgrade daily Vecernje novosti.

Graffiti saying ISIS - Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Caliphate is coming, Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and Albanian National Army (AKSh) were discovered on Sunday on some of the buildings inside the compound of this medieval monastery protected by UNESCO, and new graffiti in support of ISIS and AKSh appeared on the gate of Visoki Decani monastery, southern Kosovo-Metohija, on Monday morning.

Commenting on the incident, Djuric noted that following the NATO air campaign in 1999, an interim administration of the UN was established in the territory of Kosovo-Metohija, and since then Serbia does not have its own army and police in the southern province.

This narrows the space for interventions, but it does not diminish responsibility of domestic and foreign institutions in charge of protection of the jewels of our cultural and religious heritage, he said.

"The only way to achieve results in addressing the problem of extremism in the entire region is through cooperation of all states, the province and security agencies in the entire region, and Serbia stands ready to support this fight," Djuric underlined.

Photo Tanjug, N. Jovanovic (archive)