{"id":212978,"date":"2026-06-24T15:02:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T13:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/?p=212978"},"modified":"2026-06-24T15:02:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T13:02:14","slug":"ready-to-die-for-a-serbian-holy-site-the-testimony-of-a-norwegian-officer-who-defended-gracanica-from-albanian-mobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/ready-to-die-for-a-serbian-holy-site-the-testimony-of-a-norwegian-officer-who-defended-gracanica-from-albanian-mobs\/","title":{"rendered":"READY TO DIE FOR A SERBIAN HOLY SITE: The Testimony of a Norwegian Officer Who Defended Gra\u010danica From Albanian Mobs!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Knut Flovik Toresen once spoke about Gra\u010danica and the pride he felt at being able to light candles again in this holy monastery in an interview for the website Serbian History<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy name is Knut Flovik Toresen. I was born in Norway, into a Norwegian family near the small town of Narvik in the north of the country in 1971. During World War II, fierce battles were fought in this region. In Beisfjord, not far from where I was born, there was also a camp for Serbian prisoners. As a child, I listened to stories about the suffering of Serbian prisoners, and that left an indelible mark on me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He became an officer in the Norwegian Army, where he has served since 1990.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat I would end up as a Norwegian officer in the Balkans was completely unimaginable when I chose my career. In 2002, I was baptized in a Serbian church in Skugri\u0107 near Modri\u010da in Republika Srpska, the same year I got married and took a Serbian wife. Together we have two children, both Norwegian-Serbian, who were also baptized in Skugri\u0107,\u201d he explained, adding:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor me, it was the right thing to do to be baptized and become Orthodox. I also see how important it is to preserve traditions in Norway, such as celebrating our family patron saint day. Our family celebrates St. Stephen on January 9.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He first arrived in Kosovo and Metohija with the Norwegian military in 2001, when, as he says, he quickly realized that Serbs were being persecuted by the Albanian majority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the summer of 2003, I was again assigned to Kosovo and Metohija, this time with the Norwegian battalion serving as KFOR\u2019s rapid reaction force. I served there as the duty officer at the battalion command post,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the spring of 2004, signs began to emerge that the situation was about to escalate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSeveral smaller incidents were reported, including information that certain Albanian leaders were planning unrest in order to drive the Serbian population out of Kosovo and Metohija. It was also reported that Albanians had organized and rented buses to transport large crowds. Then, in early March, a false story spread among the Albanian population claiming that Serbs had chased Albanian children into a river near Mitrovica, causing three of them to drown. On March 15 and 16, we received several reports of attacks on Serbs, but it appeared that the KFOR leadership chose not to see the connection between these events,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Serbian churches and villages across Kosovo and Metohija came under attack, and the violence appeared highly organized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was working the night shift in the operations center, and all night long we received reports of houses being set on fire and groups carrying gasoline and incendiary bombs. I informed KFOR headquarters about what our personnel on the ground had observed. In the morning, I finished my shift and went to bed. Shortly afterward, a soldier woke me up and told me I had to come immediately \u2014 the Albanians were attacking. I returned to the operations center. We were ordered to move to an intersection south of Pri\u0161tina to stop the Albanians from destroying what remained of \u010caglavica and then proceed toward Gra\u010danica to protect the people,\u201d Knut recounted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs the operations officer, I was on the ground alongside the commander. One company was first sent to Gra\u010danica and another to \u010caglavica. On the way, we were attacked by a crowd. Our first Norwegian soldier was injured, and four vehicles were damaged. By the time the first Norwegian company arrived in \u010caglavica, several houses had already been burned. The company commander ordered his soldiers to form a shield line to stop the Albanians. There were just over 100 soldiers facing several thousand Albanians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SRBI UJEDINJENI OKO DECE I KARA\u0110OR\u0110EVI\u0106A: \u201cSrpski kamp\u201d \u0107e slede\u0107e godine u Vrnja\u010dkoj banji okupiti mlade iz \u010cikaga i otad\u017ebine!<\/a><\/blockquote>