Six persons were injured in a fight that broke out in Kistanje, inland from the coastal city of Sibenik, at 1pm on Sunday between a group of local juveniles and Serb Orthodox seminary students, the Sibenik Police Department said.
One student suffered serious and four suffered minor injuries, while one juvenile was slightly injured in the fight that followed a verbal argument. All those involved were brought in for questioning, a police spokeswoman said, adding that more details would be announced after the investigation.
The seminary of the Serb Orthodox monastery at Krka issued a statement strongly condemning the incident and describing it as "a brutal attack" and "a pogrom" against its students. It said that the motive of the attack could only be "religious and ethnic hatred", expressing hope that the authorities would bring the perpetrators to justice.
The local committee of the Croatian Democratic union (HDZ) party said that the incident had been provoked by the seminarians, noting that they were known for previous acts of provocation. "We condemn any form of violence, including that which was obviously the result of self-defence, and advocate non-violent settlement of conflicts."
