Communications in Kosovo

Communications In Kosovo

Kosovo ( /ˈkɒsəvoʊˌ ˈkoʊsəvoʊ/; Albanian: Kosovë, Kosova; Serbian: Косово or Косово и Метохија or Космет, Kosovo or Kosovo i Metohija or Kosmet) is a region in southeastern Europe. In antiquity, the Dardanian kingdom, and later Roman province of Dardania was located in the region. It was part of Serbia in the Middle Ages, during which time many important Christian monasteries, some of which are now UNESCO World Heritage sites, were built.

The Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is regarded by Serbs as a defining moment in their history and identity. In the 15th century, the region was conquered by the Muslim Ottoman Empire and remained under Ottoman rule for the next five centuries.

After the First Balkan War (1912-1913), Kosovo was incorporated into the Kingdom of Serbia. The constitution of Yugoslavia, created after World War II, recognised the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (Serbian: Аутономна Покрајина Косово и Метохија, Autonomna Pokrajina Kosovo i Metohija) within the Yugoslav republic of Serbia.

Since the late twentieth century, long-term severe ethnic tensions between Kosovo's Albanian and Serb populations have left Kosovo ethnically divided, resulting in inter-ethnic violence, including the Kosovo War of 1999. The Kosovo War ended with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia accepting that it would give up the exercise of its sovereignty pending a final status settlement. Under UNSCR 1244, governance passed to the United Nations in 1999.

In 2008 the Republic of Kosovo (Albanian: Republika e Kosovës; Serbian: Република Косово, Republika Kosovo) declared itself an independent state. It has control over most of the territory and has partial international recognition. North Kosovo, the largest Serb enclave, is largely under the control of institutions of the Republic of Serbia or parallel structures subsidised by Serbia. Serbia and a number of other countries do not recognise the secession of Kosovo and consider it a UN-governed entity within its sovereign territory.