Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija

Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija Krahina Autonome e Kosovës dhe Metohisë Аутономна Покрајина Косово и Метохиjа
Location of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia
Capital	Pristina
Official languages	Albanian Serbian
Area
• Total	10,887 km²
Population
• 2011 census	1,780,021

The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, often shorted to Kosovo, is an autonomous region of Serbia that is currently occupied by NATO.

History

Second World War

During the Second World War, Albanian fascists expelled 70,000 Serbs from Kosovo and brought in a similar number of Albanians from Albania. The Nazi 21st SS division murdered thousands of serbs in northeastern Kosovo.^:95

Yugoslavia

Tito made Kosovo an autonomous region after the war and then an autonomous province in 1963 in order to placate Albanian nationalists. In 1974, Yugoslavia adopted a new constitution that weakened the central government and gave more power to regional authorities in Kosovo. Kosovo had its own flag and supreme court, and all non-university education was in Albanian. In 1987, the newly elected Slobodan Milošević began to take action against Albanian secessionists.^:96–98

Yugoslav Wars

Until 1992, Kosovo was an autonomous region of the Socialist Republic of Serbia within Yugoslavia. In 1999, Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević surrendered to NATO after the United States bombed Serbia for 78 days. NATO divided Kosovo into five zones occupied by the USA, UK, France, Germany, and Italy. They installed the fascist Kosovo Liberation Army as the new government of Kosovo.

Demographics

Between 1945 and 1998, the non-Albanian population of Kosovo dropped from 60% to 15%. Tito did not prevent Albanians from expelling Serbs and other ethnicities.^:96