Local media in Moldova report that fire this week swept through the Jewish cemetery in the town of Lipcani, a small town in northern Moldova on the border with Romania. Pictures and video showed the stones apparently intact, but the grounds of the cemetery scorched, with grass, weeds and undergrowth burned away. The reports said about 100 square meters were affected.
Media reports speculated that the fire was set accidentally by people losing control when burning off dead grass and weeds, or by drunks who had used the cemetery as a meeting place.
According to the media, a law this year banned the burning of dry leaves and grass and stipulated that anyone doing so will be fined.