Serbian government institutions, media outlets and the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) observed a day of mourning on Wednesday under a government decision for the Serbs killed in the armed incident at the Banjska monastery in Kosovo.

Defense Minister Milos Vucevic posted a picture on his X profile of four candles burning against a black background with the ministry coat of arms in a corner, expressing sincere condolences to the families of the Serbs killed in Kosovo and the message eternal glory to them.

The SPC’s top body the Holy Synod sent messages of condolences to the families of the Serbs killed in the armed incident at the Banjska monastery. It called the faithful to “pray for all the dead for the sake of the future of Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo” and rejected claims from Pristina, the international community “and far more tragically from Belgrade” that the SPC was a participant in the armed incident.

Black posters with the message Eternal glory to all Serbs who fell in the fight for freedom at this sacred spot over a picture of the Banjska monastery appeared in the northern city of Novi Sad. The posters were not signed. They were put up across the city and nearby Sremski Karlovci. Novi Sad and the surrounding area has a large population of refugees who fled from other parts of the former Yugoslavia, including Kosovo.

The pro-regime TV Pink put up a black screen with the words day of mourning on its comedy and reality show channels.

The Serbian state TV (RTS) showed the movie Enclave about the plight of Kosovo Serbs in the years after the war.