Serbs in Kosovo mourn those killed in monastery shootout

FILE PHOTO: Kosovo police officers patrol a road to Banjska monastery, in the aftermath of a shooting incident, near Zvecan, Kosovo September 26, 2023. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski/File Photo

PRISTINA/BELGRADE (Reuters) -The main political party representing Serbs in northern Kosovo declared three days of mourning on Tuesday for people killed in a gunbattle in a monastery with Kosovo police, after the worst violence for years in the contested area.

Kosovo authorities say around 30 heavily armed Serbs stormed the village of Banjska on Sunday, battling police and barricading themselves into the Serbian Orthodox monastery. Police recaptured the monastery late on Sunday after three attackers and one police officer were killed.