The Ghosts of Lazar: A history of Kosovo

The province of Kosovo, part of Serbia since 1989, covers just 11,000
square kilometres - only slightly larger than North Yorkshire. But it holds
special significance for the Serbs whose mythology justifies an historical claim
to its land even though 90 per cent of the population is Albanian Muslim.

But the ancestors of modern-day Albanians and Serbs have lived side by side
in Kosovo, if not harmoniously, since the 4th century. The idea of an "ethnic"
conflict has only emerged over the last 100 years.

1389: The Battle of Kosovo: The forces of Serbian Prince Lazar, heavily
outnumbered, beaten by the Turkish forces of the Ottoman Sultan Murad I
and both leaders killed. Lazar has taken on mythical proportions for modern
Serbian nationalists - he is a national hero for choosing death instead of
subservience.

1690: The Great Migration, when up to 500,000 Serbs left Kosovo to
escape the marauding Ottoman and Tartar armies. Serb nationalists claim that
Christians were the majority population until this event, giving another
historical claim on Kosovo.

1912: Serbia and Montenegro conquer Kosovo and drive the Ottomans out
of the Balkans. Christians dominate Kosovo for first time since Prince Lazar
and killed thousands of Albanian Muslims.

1918: After The First World War, Serbia is the dominant power in a new
Yugoslav state which includes parts of Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro and
Kosovo.

1945: Modern borders of Kosovo created after the Second World War but
the province was still dominated by Yugoslavia. President Tito, the victorious
communist leader, suppresses ethnic conflicts and rivalries in the region and
reintroduces Albanian language to schools.

1980: Tito dies, and ethnic rivalries again begin to rise

1989: Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic takes away Kosovan autonomy.
Street violence erupts when the Kosovan assembly approves the measure

1990: Violent clashes between police and Albanian demonstrators.
Yugoslavia sends troops, tanks, warplanes and 2,000 more police to
Kosovo. Ethnic Albanian legislators declare independence but Serbia
dissolves the assembly.

1991: Bosnian war begins. Albania recognises Kosovo as an independent
state.

1992: Kosovan elections held in defiance of Serb authorities. Writer Ibrahim
Rugova elected president.

1995: Serbian court imprisons 68 Albanians for setting up a parallel police
force.

1996: The separatist Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) emerges for the first
time and claims responsibility for wave of bomb attacks.

1997: Series of attacks on Serbian leaders in Kosovo by KLA and
orchestrated attacks on police.

1998: February - Dozens killed in Serbian police operations against
separatists.

March - Tens of thousands protest in Kosovo's capital, Pristina. Ibrahim
Rugova demands outright independence for Kosovo.

April - 95 per cent of Serbs vote against international intervention in Kosovo
in a referendum.

May - US envoy Richard Holbrooke begins round of shuttle diplomacy.
Milosovic invites Rugova for peace talks. Clashes continue between Serb
forces and KLA.

August - Massive Serbian offensive weakens KLA. UN calls for a ceasefire.

September - UN security council votes for ceasefire in Kosovo and warns
Yugoslav Government of additional measures if it fails to comply. Heavy
fighting continues.

October - Nato countries give the go-ahead for military action if Milosovic
fails to comply with UN resolutions. Both sides agree to a ceasefire.
Yugoslavia agrees to allow a 2,000-strong monitoring force into Kosovo,
averting the prospect of air strikes.

December - Serbian authorities say they killed 30 ethnic Albanians in the
worst clash since ceasefire. Fresh fighting breaks out in northern Kosovo

1999: Bodies of 40 ethnic Albanians found at scene of fighting in southern
Kosovo in what appears to be a mass execution. Nato sends two senior
officers to Belgrade to warn Yugoslav authorities they face air strikes.