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Image: Marjan Vucetic/AP Photo/picture allianceImage: Marjan Vucetic/AP Photo/picture alliance

Kosovo

Kosovo, a Balkan nation of almost 1.9 million people, is a historically significant region for both ethnic Serbs and ethnic Albanians. Tensions between the two groups continue to this day.

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All Content on this topic

A young woman covers her face with her hand as she looks into a cellphone

Kosovo: Conservative traditions fuel sexual cyberbullying

Thousands of Kosovan men are involved in the phenomenon, and women who dare speak out against them suffer tremendously.
CrimeJuly 5, 2024
Aerial view of the city of Prizren, Kosovo

Few Serbs have returned to southern Kosovo since the war

Prizren was home to 13,000 Serbs before the Kosovo War. Today, there are only 80 in the entire municipality.
PoliticsJune 25, 202403:21 min
Albanian fans in the stands

Euro 2024: Serbia demands UEFA sanctions over hostile chants

The Serbian FA have demanded that UEFA punish the Croatian and Albanian FAs for uttering hateful chants during a match.
SoccerJune 20, 2024
A man stands between graves decorated with flowers, Meja, Kosovo, April 27, 2015

25 years later, what happened during the Kosovo war?

The Kosovo war was NATO's first intervention without a UN mandate, and was highly controversial.
PoliticsJune 10, 2024
DW Focus on Europe Sendungslogo

Kosovo: Finally working despite disability

Around 30 people with disabilities have found a job with a paper manufacturer, a rarity in Kosovo.
EqualityJune 10, 202404:41 min
4 people sit around a circular table with four glasses and bottles of water in front of them

Serbs, Kosovars forge new bonds 25 years after war

A quarter of a century after the war, young people from Serbia and Kosovo are working to envision a shared future.
PoliticsJune 9, 2024
Italian Carabinbarieri are on routine watch at the new Ibar bridge connecting the two sides of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo in Mitovica

Serbia, Kosovo at odds over municipal governance in Kosovo

Twenty-five years after the end of the Kosovo war, relations between Belgrade and Pristina remain difficult.
PoliticsJune 6, 202405:02 min
DW Dokumentationen | Wake up on Mars

Mystery syndrome - Why are refugee kids falling into comas?

A Roma family from Kosovo hopes for asylum in Sweden.
MigrationJune 1, 202452:03 min
Northern Mitrovica, Kosovo

Kosovo: euro as sole legal tender causes tension, problems

Although the euro is legal tender in Kosovo, 85,000 Serbs there still receive salaries and pensions in Serbian dinars.
PoliticsMay 30, 202404:40 min
A woman holds up a placard that reads 'Respect my existence or expect my resistance'

Femicide in Kosovo: Why do women keep being killed?

Kosovars have been outraged by recent news of two femicides in five days, leading to growing calls for effective action.
SocietyMay 10, 2024
A census taker (L) asks questions to a man at his home in Pristina on April 5, 2024

Kosovo begins first census in over 10 years

The nationwide tally is costing millions, but ethnic tensions could undercut efforts to provide accurate figures.
ConflictsApril 5, 2024
Boxerin Donjeta Sadiku

Boxing with politics

Donjeta Sadiku is a supremely talented boxer with multiple titles to her name. But she can't compete everywhere.
SportsApril 5, 202412:36 min
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25th anniversary of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia

On March 24, 1999, NATO began bombing Yugoslavia in an attempt to stop the violence against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
HistoryMarch 24, 202405:06 min
A Serb tank and two Serb soldiers are seen taking up positions

Raped men in Kosovo: Living with a stigma

During the Balkan wars, rape was a widespread war crime especially in Kosovo from 1998-99. One victim tells his story.
ConflictsMarch 13, 2024
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock

Germany urges EU expansion to counter Russia's influence

Germany's foreign minister says helping Western Balkan countries join the EU is crucial to curbing Moscow's influence.
PoliticsMarch 4, 2024
Men and women hold Serbian flags during a rally against the Kosovo government's attempt to enforce the euro as the only legal currency that can be used in cash operations in the country. One protester holds up a cardboard placard that reads "UN 1244. US HELP", Mitrovica, Kosovo, February 12, 2024

Kosovo: New currency regulation angers Serb minority

Although the euro is the currency of Kosovo, people in the country's Serb-majority regions still use the Serbian dinar.
PoliticsFebruary 16, 2024
Multiple Serbian Dinar banknotes of various denominations.

Kosovo: PM Kurti claims Serbian dinar not 'banned'

The euro is now the only legal tender for local transactions in Kosovo despite ethnic Serbs using dinars.
PoliticsFebruary 7, 2024
Boris Pistorius walks by a military guard in Kosovo

Germany vows security support amid Kosovo-Serbia tensions

Germany will more than double the number of soldiers sent on a NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.
PoliticsFebruary 5, 2024
A woman with long hair and glasses smiles broadly as she holds up a blue bag that reads 'Visa liberalization for Kosovo #NoVisa'

Kosovo: What has changed with visa-free travel to the EU?

For Kosovars, visa-free travel to the EU was introduced on January 1. So far, the anticipated exodus has not occurred.
PoliticsJanuary 17, 2024
Salih Mustafa, balding man with glasses

Kosovo court upholds rebel commander's war crimes conviction

Salih Mustafa's conviction on torture and murder charges was the first made by the special Kosovo court in The Hague.
Law and JusticeDecember 14, 2023
Kosovo | Verhaftung in Pristina

Serbia-Kosovo tensions hinder both countries paths to EU

As part of their EU membership bid, Serbia and Kosovo need to normalize relations but the process is losing steam.
PoliticsDecember 13, 202302:37 min
DW Sendung Fokus Europa | Kosovo Raubabholzung

Kosovo's illegal firewood problem

As energy prices soar, many Kosovo households are turning to illegally felled firewood to stay warm.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 11, 202305:21 min
Young female footballer Erjona Mehmeti from Kosovo, speaking to DW during a training session

UN campaign aids young female footballers in Kosovo

In Kosovo, football is traditionally a male sport. But a young generation of girls wants to change that.
SocietyDecember 8, 202301:44 min
DW Sendung Fokus Europa | Finnland Bunker

Focus on Europe – Spotlight on People

In Helsinki's underground bunkers, some spaces are open to public use, with a pool, play areas and more.
PoliticsDecember 7, 202326:05 min
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg walks down a red carpet with the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, with soldiers standing to attention on both sides.

What is NATO’s Balkan plan as Kosovo and Bosnia wobble?

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg conducted a quick tour of the delicate Western Balkans region. What was he trying to do?
PoliticsNovember 23, 2023
Olaf Scholz (r) with Edi Rama in Tirana

Germany's Scholz heads to Western Balkan summit

Scholz, and other leaders, are meeting in the Albanian capital for talks on several countries' EU accession.
PoliticsOctober 16, 2023
Alexander Rhotert, Politologe und Westbalkan-Experte

My Europe: 'Trip wires' for peace in the Western Balkans

Alexander Rhotert
After the violence in Kosovo, a peacekeeping mission must stop a new conflict in the Balkans, says Alexander Rhotert.
ConflictsOctober 7, 2023
Kosovo | Police in Zvecan

Kosovo Minister: 'Serbia is a haven for war criminals'

Kosovo's Justice Minister Albulena Haxhiu says that "Serbia is a haven for war criminals."
PoliticsOctober 6, 202305:19 min
Kosovo police show a cache of weapons and ammunition seized from a Serbian armed group suspected of terrorism

Serbia says it has reduced troop presence near Kosovo

Serbia says it cut troops on the border by almost half in the face of international concerns over rising tensions.
ConflictsOctober 2, 2023
NATO-led International Military Mission to Kosovo (KFOR) increase the security measures in Zvecan

NATO sends 600 UK soldiers to Kosovo in response to clashes

President Vucic, meanwhile, denied he was amassing troops at the Kosovo border.
ConflictsOctober 2, 2023
Kosovo KFOR-Soldat in Pristina

Kosovo seeks NATO assistance as ethnic tensions rise

Kosovo has requested that NATO reinforce its troops in the volatile Balkan region.
PoliticsSeptember 30, 202302:26 min
Armed Kosovo police officer peaking out of vehicle in Mitrovica

US urges Serbia to pull back troops from Kosovo border

The White House warned that Belgrade had deployed tanks and artillery near the border since deadly clashes on Sunday.
PoliticsSeptember 30, 2023
Kosovo police officers patrol a road to Banjska monastery

Deadly Kosovo clashes spark fear of escalation

After an attack by heavily armed Serbs on Kosovar police officers, many people in northern Kosovo fear an escalation.
ConflictsSeptember 29, 2023
Tensions in Kosovo after shootout

How is Serbia responding to the attack in northern Kosovo?

After a shootout between Serb gunmen and Kosovar police left five dead, the region is on high alert.
PoliticsSeptember 26, 202303:51 min
Kosovo police officers patrol on a road to Banjska monastery, in the aftermath of a shooting incident, near Zvecan, Kosovo

Russia blames Kosovo government for 'bloodshed'

Several assailants remain on the loose after Sunday's attack, which Kosovo blames on Serbs.
ConflictsSeptember 25, 2023
The armed group inside the monastery of Banska in the north of Kosovo

Kosovo monastery siege ends with 4 dead

Masked gunmen opened fire at a Kosovo police patrol, with Pristina blaming "Serbia's criminal groups" for the ambush.
ConflictsSeptember 24, 2023
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti sitting at a conference table together.

No breakthrough in latest round of Serbia-Kosovo talks

Mediation talks reportedly failed over Kosovo's refusal to accept a compromise plan.
PoliticsSeptember 14, 2023
Albin Kurti (left) in an interview with DW

Albin Kurti: No 'eruption of violence' in northern Kosovo

Kosovo's prime minister tells DW the EU should remove sanctions against his country and increase pressure on Serbia.
PoliticsSeptember 12, 202310:50 min
People hold placards and Albanian and Kosovar flags during a protest as two police officers look on, Prizren, Kosovo, August 11, 2023

Kosovo: Is conservative Islam gaining ground?

Conservative Muslims in the southern Kosovar city of Prizren are agitating against a news portal and a journalist.
SocietyAugust 25, 2023
Mark Rutte and Xavier Bettel address the media with Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade.

Kosovo: Dutch, Luxembourg PMs urge de-escalation

The two European leaders hope to help smooth over tensions between Serbia and neighboring Kosovo.
PoliticsJuly 4, 2023
Kosovo police officers stand guard along a muddy road in a village in northern Kosovo, June 14, after Serbian authorities arrested three Kosovo police officers

Serbia releases detained Kosovo police officers

Kosovo's prime minister said he was happy about the officers, but said Serbian "aggression" ought to be held to account.
PoliticsJune 26, 2023
A tractor drives along an empty street in the city of Gjakova, Kosovo

Kosovo's brain drain: How the skills exodus impacts society

The shortage of skilled labor in Germany is triggering massive emigration in several countries, including Kosovo.
SocietyJune 25, 2023
The Serbian Ministry of the Interior published a photo of the three arrested Kosovar police officers, alleging that they were "fully armed"

Serbia ignores US call to release arrested Kosovo policemen

Following the arrest of three Kosovar officers in Serbia, the US has repeatedly called for their release.
Law and JusticeJune 16, 2023
Kosovo police officers guard in a street

Kosovo says Serbian forces detained three of its police

Police in Kosovo say three border officers are believed to have been detained by Serbian special units.
PoliticsJune 14, 2023
US special envoy to the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar and EU Special Representative for Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak

US envoy urges Kosovo to grant Serbs autonomy

US envoy Gabriel Escobar urged Kosovo authorities to withdraw police and mayors from Serb-majority areas.
PoliticsJune 7, 2023
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti at military exercise in Pristina

Kosovo PM Kurti hints at new mayoral vote amid tensions

After the violence in northern Kosovo, opposition lawmakers blamed PM Albin Kurti for deteriorating ties with the West.
PoliticsJune 2, 2023
NATO-led KFOR peacekeepers in Zvecan, Kosovo alongside armored vehicle

Kosovo crisis: France, Germany call for new elections

Kosovo PM Albin Kurti has doubled down on the decision to install ethnic Albanian mayors in majority Serb areas.
PoliticsJune 1, 2023
Novak Djokovic looks at the ball as he attempts a shot

French Open: Novak Djokovic doubles down on Kosovo statement

Novak Djokovic caused controversy in Paris after writing "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia" on a courtside camera.
SportsMay 31, 2023
KFOR soldier putting up barbed wire near town hall in Zvecan, Kosovo

Kosovo: NATO-led peacekeepers put up barriers in Serb town

Soldiers secured the perimeter of the town hall of Zvecan with metal fences following clashes with ethnic Serbs.
PoliticsMay 31, 2023
Kosovo Force (KFOR) soldiers clash with local Kosovo Serb protesters at the entrance of the municipality office, in the town of Zvecan, Kosovo.

Who are the NATO-led troops caught in the Kosovo tensions?

International peacekeepers are caught up in an acrimonious episode in Kosovo. How did they come to be there?
PoliticsMay 30, 2023