1989 -- Pressured by Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, the Kosovo assembly approves the abolition of the province's autonomous status. Serbia suppresses Albanian cultural institutions in Kosovo.

1990 -- Serbia dissolves the Kosovo assembly. Ethnic Albanian legislators in the province declare independence.

1991 -- Tens of thousands of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo lose their jobs. Separatists, in a secret referendum, proclaim the Republic of Kosovo, which is recognized by Albania.

1992 -- In defiance of Serbian authorities, ethnic Albanians elect writer Ibrahim Rugova as president of the self-proclaimed republic and set up a provincial assembly. Serbia declares the election to be illegal. 

1996 -- The shadowy Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) claims responsibility for a number of bombings and attacks against Serbian police and state officials, and Albanians loyal to Serbia.

1997 -- The KLA claims responsibility for a further series of violent incidents, including bombings, attacks on police stations and raids on refugee camps. Serb police crush Albanian student demonstrations in September.

(1998)

February/March -- Serbian police conduct a series of raids in the Drenica region of Kosovo. Houses are burned, villages emptied, and dozens of ethnic Albanians killed. Street clashes erupt as tens of thousands protest in the Kosovo capital of Pristina. Disregarding western calls for compromise, Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova demands outright independence.

April -- 95 percent of Serbs vote against international mediation in Kosovo. The Contact Group for the Former Yugoslavia, with the exception of Russia, agrees to impose new sanctions against Yugoslavia.

May -- Yugoslav President Milosevic invites Rugova for peace talks. Although negotiators begin talks in Pristina, the fighting intensifies.

June -- U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke meets June 23 with Milosevic in Belgrade to urge an end to the conflict. On June 24, Holbrooke meets with commanders of the ethnic Albanian commanders in the village of Junik. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan cautions NATO that it must seek a Security Council mandate for any military intervention.

July -- France and Britain draft a U.N. Security Council resolution in an attempt to bring about a ceasefire. On July 6, the U.S. charge d'affaires in Belgrade, Richard Miles, and his Russian counterpart launch the Kosovo Diplomatic Observer Mission (KOM) to report on freedom of movement and security conditions throughout Kosovo.

August -- The U.N. calls for a ceasefire after the village of Junik, a KLA stronghold, falls into Serb hands on August 16 following a month-long offensive. 

September 7 -- John Shattuck, assistant secretary of state for democracy and human rights, and former Senator Bob Dole deliver a stern warning to Milosevic concerning prisoners and refugees in Kosovo.

September 23 -- The U.N. Security Council approves (with China abstaining) resolution #1199, which demands a cessation of hostilities and warns that, "should the measures demanded in this resolution...not be taken...additional measures to maintain or restore peace and stability in the region" will be considered.

September 24 -- NATO takes the first formal steps toward military intervention in Kosovo, approving two contingency operation plans, one for air strikes and the second for monitoring and maintaining a ceasefire agreement if one is reached. 

September 29 -- The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees announces on September 29 that as many as 200,000 civilians have been displaced within Kosovo since fighting began in February.

October 1 -- The White House urges Yugoslav President Milosevic to heed Western demands for a ceasefire and withdrawal of Serbian troops from Kosovo and the Clinton administration's national security team lays the groundwork before members of Congress for possible NATO military intervention. Special U.N. Security Council consultations on the Kosovo crisis begin at the initiation of the British government. 

October 12 --President Clinton announces that Milosevic has committed to comply fully with UN 1199 and to allow for a verification regime. NATO agrees to delay a decision on air strikes for 96 hours.

October 15 -- NATO Secretary General Solana signs the agreement for NATO forces to carry out the air verification regime on Serbia's committment to comply with UN 1199.

October 16 -- OSCE President Geremek signs the agreement covering the ground verification regime for the 2,000 members of the Verification Mission.

October 16 -- NATO extended the deadline for the "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" to come into compliance with terms of the accord on Kosovo, giving President Slobodan Milosevic until October 27 to honor the agreement.

November -- Dozens of international monitors begin training in Kosovo before fanning out throughout the province to verify October's cease-fire agreement. 

December 13 -- Serbs claim more than 30 ethnic Albanians are killed in a series of engagements along the border. 

December 23 -- The United States condemns the military action undertaken by combined forces of the Yugoslav Army and internal security police near Podujevo, Kosovo. 

(1999)

January 16 -- The bodies of more than 40 ethnic Albanians who were apparently executed are found in the village of Racak. International community condemns this massacre of civilians.

January 18 -- The international community expresses outrage over the Yugoslav Foreign Minister's decision that OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission Director Ambassador William Walker must depart the country within 48 hours.

January 19 -- General Wesley Clark, NATO Commander, states his forces are prepared for action. 

January 21 -- Yugoslav government reconsiders and says Ambassador Walker may remain. 

January 29 -- Six-nation contact group meets in London and gives Serbs and ethnic Albanians an ultimatum to attend peace talks in France starting February 6. 

February 1 -- Two more political leaders in Kosovo say they will participate in proposed peace talks. 

February 2 -- KLA spokesman says group will send representatives to the peace talks in France. 

February 4 -- Yugoslav government agrees to join peace talks.

February 6 -- Peace talks to halt ethnic violence in Kosovo open in Rambouillet, France, under the auspices of the Contact Group and the co-Chairmanship of Hubert Vedrine and Robin Cook. 

February 23 -- Both sides conditionally agreed on greater autonomy in Kosovo. The ethnic Albanians agreed in principle to sign the political accord but wanted to return home and consult further before fully accepting the agreement. The Serbs continued to have reservations about signing an agreement and about the use of NATO forces in Kosovo. Both sides agreed to meet again in France on March 15 for more negotiations.

March 15 -- The ethnic Albanian delegation in Paris agreed to accept the autonomy deal proposed at last month's meetings in Rambouillet. President Clinton encouraged Milosevic to agree to the terms as well in order to avoid further conflict and bloodshed.

March 19 -- The peace talks adjourn in failure, following the refusal of the Serbs to sign on, and international monitors prepare to leave Kosovo.

March 22 -- Shelling edges toward Pristina as the Serbs step up hostilities.

March 24 -- NATO begins the air strikes on targets in Yugoslavia that are to become a daily, increasingly severe, occurrence.

March 29 -- The tide of refugees fleeing Kosovo for Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro increases amid reports of Serbian atrocities.

April 1 -- Serbian forces capture three U.S. soldiers near the Yugoslav-Macedonian border.

April 6 -- Serbia declares a unilateral cease-fire; NATO rejects the offer as meaningless and continues daily air attacks, remaining insistent on full compliance with allied demands.