Serbs bury bus bomb victims

Serb women weep over the coffins of the victims

By Nicholas Wood in Gracanica

After four days of waiting, the Serb community in the Kosovan town of Gracanica has finally been able to put some of its dead to rest.

The service, for eight out of at least 10 civilians killed by last Friday's bus explosion, took place in the enclosure of Gracanica monastery.

The coach was under military escort when the bombers struck

The church was too small to house the several thousand people who attended.

The coffins were lined up close together, with wooden crosses propped up against them. The names of each person were marked in cyrillic.

Three bore the same surname, Cokic - Njegos and Snezana, a young husband and wife, and between them, a white casket with their two-year-old son, Danilo.

Community in shock

Snezana's mother cried and wailed. The family was coming from southern Serbia to visit her in Gracanica when they were killed.

The community here is still in shock about the attack.

The blast did so much damage that some of the dead have still to be identified and the final death toll is still in dispute.

Kosovo administrator Hans Haekkerup joined mourners

The funeral itself was led by the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

It was also attended by Hans Haekkerup, the head of the UN mission in Kosovo, as well as General Carlo Cabiogiosu, the commander of the NATO-led peacekeeping forces KFOR.

They know that this service marks the end of the international community's patience with Kosovo, and that KFOR and local Albanian leaders are under severe pressure to ensure that further attacks do not take place.