Prior to the 1999 Kosovo War, there were many more Serbs living in the territory of Kosovo. Many of them left in 1999, and some more left during the 2004 unrest, when the Serb community and Serbian cultural heritage were targeted, and as a result 35 churches, including 18 monuments of culture, were demolished, burnt or severely damaged. Estimates of the number of Serbs thus displaced range from 65,000 to 250,000[3][4][5][6] Only about 3.000 of them have returned since. Based on Serbian former Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija, 312 of 437 towns and villages in which Serbs lived were completely ethnically cleansed, and in the ensuing violence, more than 1.000 Serbs were killed, while 841 were kidnapped and 960 wounded.[7][8]
Between 2000 and 2008, the UNMIK administration created eight new municipalities on the territory of Kosovo, three of which have an ethnic Serb majority: Gračanica, Klokot-Vrbovac and Ranilug. In 2008, the Community Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija was created to coordinate the efforts of the Serbian minority in Kosovo. There are some 120,000 Serbs in Kosovo, of whom about a third are in the north. They believe that if Republic of Kosovo government officials are deployed on the border, Kosovo will eventually take control of the north, which is now a de facto part of Serbia. Kosovo's Serbs, especially in the north, reject its independence.[1]
According to the 2011 census, which was boycotted in North Kosovo and partially boycotted by Serbs in southern Kosovo,[9] the municipalities of Gračanica, Parteš and Ranilug (enclaves, outside North Kosovo) have a Serb majority, while Serbs form about 45% of the total population of Novo Brdo, Štrpce and Klokot.[10]
Gjilan or Gnjilane is the sixth most populous city in Kosovo and it serves as both a municipality and the administrative center of the Gjilan District. The municipality has a population of 90,178 with approximately 54,239 inhabitants residing in the urban area. It is located in the east of Kosovo, in the region of Anamorava, and is well connected with the capital city of Kosovo, Pristina, as well as other surrounding cities such as Ferizaj, Kamenica, Preševo and Bujanovac.
The Kosovo-Pomoravlje District is a district of Kosovo and Metohija, part of the Republic of Serbia. The region is called Kosovo Pomoravlje. The area now has a population of 184,864. Before the NATO intervention in the Kosovo War, 20.000 Serbs lived in Gjilan. The seat of the district was in the city of Gjilan. Along with the rest of Kosovo, it was transferred to UN administration. In 2000 the UN administration renamed the district the District of Gjilan as part of a series of reforms, which were rejected by Serbia.
Novo Brdo or Novobërda and Artanë, is a town and municipality located in the Prishtina district of Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, it has a population of 6,729 inhabitants. The center of the municipality is the village of Bostane. The region is especially known for its role in mining during medieval times, in particular after the construction of the Novo Brdo Fortress by Stefan Milutin to house Saxon miners who were brought in the region.
Štrpce or Shtërpcë is a town and municipality located in the Ferizaj District in Kosovo. As of 2015, it has an estimated population of 13,630 inhabitants.
The District of Gjilan is one of the seven districts of Kosovo. Its seat is in the city of Gjilan.
The District of Pristina is a district in Kosovo. Its seat is the capital city of Pristina. It consists of eight municipalities and 298 villages. According to the 2011 census, the total population of the district is 477,312.
The administrative divisions of Serbia are regulated by the Government of Serbia Enactment of 29 January 1992, and by the Law on Territorial Organization adopted by the National Assembly of Serbia on 29 December 2007.
The municipalities and cities are the second level administrative subdivisions of Serbia. The country is divided into 145 municipalities and 29 cities, forming the basic level of local government.
Kosovo Serbs are one of the ethnic groups of Kosovo and they form the largest ethnic minority community in Kosovo (5–6%). There are around 100,000 Kosovo Serbs as of 2014 and about half of them live in North Kosovo. Other Kosovo Serb communities live in the Southern municipalities of Kosovo.
Local elections were held in Kosovo on 11 May 2008, together with Serbia's parliamentary elections and elections in Vojvodina. UNMIK authorities have criticized Serbia organizing elections saying only the UN can organize elections in Kosovo. Kosovo's President Fatmir Sejdiu accused Serbia of trying to challenge Kosovo's statehood.
Gračanica or Graçanicë, is a town and municipality located in Pristina District in central Kosovo. As of 2011, it has an estimated population of 10,675 inhabitants, though most Serbs boycotted the Kosovo government's census.
Parteš or Partesh, is a town and municipality located in the Gjilan District of Kosovo. The municipality was established on 19 August 2010. It is inhabited by Serbs, and as of 2013, it has an estimated population of 5,300 inhabitants.
Ranilug or Ranillug, is a village and municipality located in the Gjilan District of Kosovo. The municipality comprises 12 villages and as of 2015 has a population of 5,800 inhabitants. According to the 2013 Brussels Agreement, it was to become part of the Community of Serb Municipalities, but the agreement was deemed unconstitutional and was never implemented.
Klokot or Kllokot is a town and municipality in the District of Gjilan in southeastern Kosovo. The municipality was established on 8 January 2010, the settlements having been part of the municipality of Viti. The seat of the municipality is in the town of Klokot.
An advisory referendum on accepting the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo was held in the Serb-dominated regions of North Kosovo on 14 and 15 February 2012. The referendum was held in Zubin Potok, Zvečan and Mitrovica on both days, while Leposavić voted on 15 February. The voting ran from 7:00 to 19:00 on both days. The result saw 99.74% of voters reject the writ of the Republic of Kosovo's institutions. The poll was rejected by the governments of both Serbia and Kosovo.
Serbian National Council of Kosovo and Metohija is an elected political and coordinating body acting as a representative of Serbs of Kosovo.
A Community of Serb Municipalities, or Association of Serb Municipalities, is a planned grouping of ethnic Serb majority municipalities in Kosovo.
The Kosovo Agency of Statistics monitors various demographic features of the population of Kosovo, such as population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Censuses, normally conducted at ten-year intervals, record the demographic characteristics of the population. According to the first census conducted after the 2008 declaration of independence in 2011, the permanent population of Kosovo had reached 1,810,366.
Telephone numbers in Yugoslavia consisted of a 3-digit area code followed by 6 digits. In Serbia, they mainly began with 1, 2 or 3, in Croatia 4 or 5, in Slovenia 6, Bosnia and Herzegovina 7, in Montenegro 8 and in Macedonia 9.
This is gallery of coats or arms, seals and emblems used by the institutions of Kosovo since 10 June 1999.
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