Tensions Between Serbia And Kosovo | Burning Issues | PDF Download

WHAT HAPPENED RECENTLY?

• Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo flared recently after Kosovo’s police raided Serb-dominated areas in the region’s north and arrested scores of people. There have been clashes between Kosovo’s police and local Serbs, with several people injured, and two UN personnel were detained, including a Russian.

SERBIA KOSOVO CONFLICT

 ISLAM IN KOSOVO

• Islam in Kosovo has a long-standing tradition dating back to the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans, including Kosovo. Before the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, the entire Balkan region had been Christianized by both the Western and Eastern Roman Empire. From 1389 until 1912, Kosovo was officially governed by the Muslim Ottoman Empire and, as such, a high level of Islamization occurred.

TIMELINE

• 1912: Serbia regains control of Kosovo
• 1946: Kosovo is absorbed into the Yugoslav federation and becomes communist.
• 1974: Yugoslavian Constitution accords Kosovo autonomy and the status of a ‘federal autonomous unit.’

SERBIA

USA STARTS SUPPORTING KOSOVO

 SERBIA AND KOSOVO

• It declared independence in 2008.
• Serbia has refused to recognize Kosovo’s statehood and still considers it part of Serbia, even though it has no formal control there. Kosovo’s independence has been recognized by about 100 countries, including the United States. Russia, China and five European Union nations have sided with Serbia.

LAND SWAP TALKS

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

• International officials are hoping to restart talks between Serbia and Kosovo. Both nations must normalize ties if they want to advance toward EU membership. No breakthrough would mean prolonged instability, economic decline and constant potential for clashes.

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