Huddled in their monastery together with a few refugees, only the protection of Italian KFOR troops stands between them and an angry Albanian rabble outside. The beauty of the place contrasts all too sharply with the ugliness and chaos that exists all around them.
None now remain.
The town was always a rather confused muddle of small shops, narrow streets and rickety vehicles, but it was lively and bustling. There is only a sporadic supply of power in Kosovo and by 6 o'clock in the evening with no lighting and heating the town empties. An eery silence falls which even Kfor soldiers fear to penetrate alone. Crime is rampant. Southwestern Kosovo along the border with Albania suffered the greatest damage during the NATO campaign.