Holocaust memorial desecrated in Kosovo

Source: AP, Tanjug

PRIŠTINA -- Kosovo police are investigating who sprayed swastikas on dozens of tombstones in a Jewish cemetery in Priština.

“Jews out” was spray-painted on a memorial for Jewish families who perished during World War II.

Police Spokesman Brahim Sadrija said Thursday that police had sealed off the cemetery in Priština and were looking for clues. The vandalism is believed to have happened Tuesday, AP has reported.

”Kosovo police went to the scene and have taken the necessary steps. An expert from Priština’s Monument Directorate has also been contacted. The investigators are conducting an investigation in order to find out who the perpetrator of this act is,” Sadrija told Radio Free Europe.

He said he could not disclose more details pending the ongoing investigation.

Kosovo Albanian President Atifete Jahjaga and PM Hashim Thaci have condemned the act.

The U.S. Embassy in Priština was the first to condemn the incident and called on the Kosovo authorities to thoroughly investigate the case and bring the persons responsible for it to justice.

Kosovo's Jewish community left for Israel and Serbia during and after the 1998-99 Kosovo war.