Protesters in Serbia's capital, Belgrade, broke into the U.S. Embassy on Thursday and set some rooms on fire. The rioters were part of larger protests among Serbian nationalists opposed to the independence of Kosovo. A charred body was later found inside the embassy.
At a briefing this afternoon, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said the body was not that of an American. He said all American embassy personnel have been accounted for. The only employees on the scene were local security guards. At least one Belgrade TV station reported that the body was that of a rioter.
Robert Siegel talks with Reuters Balkans correspondent Ellie Tzortzi, who was at the embassy when a mob of young men started attacking it. She was still there when police returned to keep the building from being destroyed. Tzortzi describes what she saw.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.