On September 24, 2023, a group of masked armed men in armored vehicles broke into the Banjska monastery through the locked gates, according to the press service of the Raško-Prizren diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

It is known that for security reasons, the monastery’s brethren and ascetics locked themselves in the dormitory, locked also the monastery’s temple, and armed masked men were walking on the territory, shots were heard from time to time.

Police forces were sent to the scene of the shooting and came under fire. The Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo said that the police were attacked by “heavily armed professionals”.

Kosovo police later reported the killing of three “attackers” and the arrest of four.

The Serbian Church’s Raško-Prizren diocese reported that the situation at the monastery has now normalized. The armed masked men have left the monastery grounds.

A group of pilgrims from Novi Sad, among them two minor children, are still staying in the monastery’s dormitory.