Kosovo

Basics:

Area, 10,887 sq km (4203 sq mi); population (1991) 1,956,196.

Province in southwestern Serbia, in the federation of Serbia and Montenegro.

Bounded on the south by the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, on the west by Albania, and on the northwest by Montenegro.

Province has long been one of the poorest regions in all of Europe and has poorly developed plumbing and electricity services, and unemployment is well above 50 percent.

The capital of Kosovo is Pristina; other major cities include Prizren and Peç. More than 90 percent of the population of Kosovo is ethnic Albanian, with the remainder being mostly Serb and Montenegrin.

History:

2000 BCE
The Illyrian tribe of Dardanae occupied a territory that included present-day Kosovo and which was later subdued by the Romans. Near the end of the 12th century the Serbian ruler Stephen Nemanja annexed Kosovo.

1389
Invading Ottoman army defeated the Serbian army in the Battle of Kosovo Polje, leading to the subsequent conquest of all of Serbia by the Ottoman Empire in 1459 and driving many Serbs northward.

1878
Albanians in the region formed the League of Prizren to resist Ottoman-Turkish rule, and a provisional government was formed in 1881.

1912
Anti-Turkish resistance in Kosovo succeeded in expelling the Turks. Kosovo was included in the newly independent state of Albania in 1912, but the following year the Great Powers (Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and Russia) forced Albania to give the region to Serbia.

1918
Kosovo was incorporated into the newly established Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, later renamed Yugoslavia. During World War II Kosovo was again briefly annexed by Albania.

1946
Kosovo was granted autonomous status within Serbia.

1968
First pro-independence demonstrations by ethnic Albanians in Kosovo

1974
Newly drafted Yugoslavian constitution declares Kosovo to be an autonomous province.

1980
Yugoslavian dictator who repressed ethnic rivalries, Marshal Josip Broz Tito, dies.

1981
Periodic uprisings by ethnic Albanians gradually led to greater autonomy for the province, but riots cause a Serbian backlash.

1987
Rising Serbian resentment against Albanians resulted in protest marches and helped facilitate the rise to power of Slobodan Miloseviç in Serbia in 1987.

1989
Miloseviç brought an end to the province's autonomy, placing Kosovo under de facto military occupation. Albanian media was suppressed, and all Albanian-language education was suspended (although elementary education was restored in late 1994).

1990
Serbian authorities abolished Kosovo's parliament in, forcing the province's political leaders to seek refuge in the Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, where they declared Kosovo's independence. Albanians in Kosovo continue to agitate for secession from the federation of Serbia and Montenegro, seeking annexation to Albania or outright independence.Yugoslavian national troops occupy the region.

1991
Separatists proclaim Kosovo an independent republic which is recognized only by neighboring Albania.

1992
Ibrahim Rugova is elected president of the independent republic of Kosovo.

1996
Pro-independence rebel Kosovo Liberation Army first emerges.

Feb. 1998
Militant Kosovo Albanians kill two Serb policemen, leading to brutal reprisals by Milosevic.

April 1998
Serbs reject any international mediation on the Kosovo conflict and sanctions are imposed upon Yugoslavia.

May 1998
Milosevic and Rugova hold talks for the very first time but Albanians boycott further meetings.

July & August 1998
KLA seizes control of about 40% of Kosovo territory before being routed in a Serb offensive.

September 1998
Serb military forces strike at central Kosovo where 22 Albanians are found massacred. U.N. Security Council call for an immediate cease-fire.

October 1998
NATO High Command authorizes the use of airstrikes against Serb ilitary targets but Milosevic avoids them by agreeing to withdraw troops and permitting 2,000 unarmed monitors into Kosovo.

October - December 1998
United States attempts to mediate a peace settlement between Serb and Kosovar leaders, but scattered violence undermines truce.

Jan. 15, 1999
Forty-five ethnic Albanians are massacred outside Racak.

Jan. 29, 1999
NATO allies demand that warring sides attend a Kosovo peace conference or face airstrikes.

Feb. 6-17, 1999
First round of talks betwen Kosovo Albanians and Serbs take place.

February - March 1999
Yugoslav military and police forces bombard KLA positions and rebels launch counter-attacks.

Mar. 18, 1999
Kosovo Albanian separatist leaders sign a peace deal which calls for broad interim autonomy. But the Serbian delegation rejects the deal and the talks are suspended.

Mar. 20, 1999
International monitor quickly evacuate Kosovo in anticipation of NATO airstrikes and/or Serbian reprisals.

Mar. 22, 1999
U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke warns Milosevic of possible airstrikes against his military unless he agrees to the peace agreement.

Mar. 23, 1999
Peace talks fail once again and NATO authorizes airstrikes.

Mar. 24 - ?
NATO bombards Serb military targets - starting with air defense positions and moving on to other types of military targets.

See Also:

Religious Wars in the Balkans
In what ways are the conflicts in the Balkans, like in Bosnia or Kosovo, ultimately reducible to religious hatred?

Albania
Facts and details about this key nation

Balkan Overview
An overview of the different ethnic/religious groups involved

Slobodan Milosevic
Who is he and where did he come from?

Regional History
Brief overview of the Balkan region and what has historically happened there