Police chief sacked as Belgrade mosque torched

Belgrade’s police chief was sacked today after his officers failed to stop rioting mobs from torching the Serbian capital’s only mosque.

Milan Obradovic was dismissed “because of flaws in securing the mosque” during protests against ethnic Albanians last week, said the head of Serbia’s public security, Miroslav Milosevic.

Milosevic also said an investigation was under way to determine who else was responsible for the lack of determined police action against the arsonists.

The move was an apparent attempt by the new government of Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica to stave off criticism over the attack on the mosque by punishing those who failed to protect it.

The government has claimed that it had ordered the mosque secured.

The Belgrade mosque was set on fire during protests that erupted last week in reaction to the latest ethnic violence in Kosovo which targeted the Serb minority there.