2004 unrest in Kosovo

On 17–18 March 2004, violence erupted in the partitioned town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, leaving hundreds wounded and at least 14 people dead. The unrest was precipitated by reports in the Kosovo Albanian media which falsely claimed that three Kosovo Albanian boys had drowned after being chased into the Ibar River by a group of Kosovo Serbs. UN peacekeepers and NATO troops scrambled to contain a gun battle between Serbs and Albanians. Serbs call the event the March Pogrom (Serbian: Мартовски погром, romanized: Martovski pogrom), while the Albanians call it the March Unrest (Albanian: Trazirat e marsit).

International courts in Pristina have prosecuted people who attacked several Serbian Orthodox churches, handing down prison sentences ranging from 21 months to 16 years. Some of the destroyed churches have since been rebuilt by the Government of Kosovo in cooperation with the Serbian Orthodox Church and the UN mission in Kosovo.