Kosovo

Kosovo refers to the region in the central Balkans situated southwest of Serbia, north of Macedonia, and west of Albania. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, where it was previously an autonomous province in the Serbian federation. It has been largely recognized internationally as an independent state, with Serbia and its ally Russia dissenting. Ethnically, Kosovo has traditionally been occupied by Albanians, Serbs, and Roma people, but in the past two centuries it has consisted of an overwhelming majority of Albanians.

The relationship between the Serbs and Albanians has been decidedly contentious over their respective histories. In 1999, Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milošević launched an assault to remove the threat of the Kosovo Liberation Army and to restore the Serbian “heartland” by cleansing the area of ...