Fourteen missionaries serving for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Serbia were pulled out of the country Saturday because of concerns about their safety.
The missionaries, who are part of the Austria Vienna South Mission, have been transferred to Croatia, which is part of the same mission. The group comprises 12 proselyting missionaries and one married couple assigned to humanitarian service duties.Several in the group are from Utah, but the church did not release any names with the announcement Saturday evening.
The church announced the pullout one day after the U.S. State Department urged all U.S. citizens in Serbia-Montenegro to leave the country and authorized the pullout of embassy personnel in non-emergency positions and their family members. The threatened NATO military action against the Belgrade government because of violence perpetrated by security forces against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo prompted the State Department warning.
The church established a branch in Belgrade in 1988 and has about 100 members in Serbia.
Political unrest in Albania and Cambodia prompted the church to remove missionaries from those countries last year.