When Kosovo declared independence from Serbia a week and a half ago on the 17th, the United States and several European countries quickly recognized her sovereignty. As Serbs (whether residing in Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo or elsewhere) consider Kosovo the spiritual and cultural heartland of Serbia, they were none too pleased with the United States; over the past week, many anti-independence demonstrations in Serbia have been directed at or near US embassies or consulates.

Our outreach team from the October DTS, comprised mainly of North Americans, crossed over from Serbia to Bosnia days before the declaration. The last we’ve heard from them, they are safe and reacting with intelligence to the situation.

Today, 10,000 Bosnian Serbs (Edit: numbering 100,000 according to CNN.com on 27/02) engaged in peaceful protest in the town of Banja Luka, the town where our team is staying. A minority have apparently tried to rush and attack the US Consulate and are being resisted by riot police.

We are confident that God will continue to protect our colleagues, but we would ask that you could join and pray for extra wisdom for the two leaders (Darcy and Shelby) and their team to know how to handle this tense situation. Pray especially that the Americans are able to communicate well their intentions for being in the country, as citizens of countries having recognized Kosovo will surely feel unwelcome in ethnic Serb-dominated areas, like Banja Luka. As well, the outreach is scheduled for another few weeks in Bosnia and Serbia; pray that appropriate decisions can be made for the timing for traveling back to Northern Ireland.

In the news:

Bosnian Serbs try to attack US consulate (CNN.com)

Bosnian Serbs stage Kosovo rally (BBC)

2008 Kosovo declaration of independence at Wikipedia

Pictures from the Serbian Prayer Walk in 2006