Serbs and ethnic Albanians had vied for control in the region throughout the 20th Century.

While Serbs latterly only made up about 10% of the population, the historic and emotional importance of the province for them was enormous.

Serbs consider Kosovo the cradle of their culture, religion and national identity.

The 1974 Yugoslav constitution laid down Kosovo's status as an autonomous province of Serbia. Pressure for independence mounted in the 1980s after the death of Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito.

In the latter part of the decade, when Milosevic was number two in the Serbian Communist Party, he harnessed resentment over Kosovan influence within the Yugoslav federation.

At the same time, Serbs were complaining about persecution by the majority Albanians.

Milosevic, motivated by political opportunism, became a champion of Serbian nationalism.

 

In 1987, he was sent to Kosovo and, spotting an opportunity, seized it.

In an impromptu televised address that made his reputation overnight, Milosevic promised Serbian demonstrators in Kosovo that "no one will dare to beat you again".

Two years later, when he became Yugoslav president, he set about stripping Kosovo of its autonomy. Serbian nationalism was on the march.

Mass protests

A passive resistance movement in the 1990s failed to secure independence or restore autonomy, although ethnic Albanian leaders declared unilateral independence in 1991.

In the mid-1990s the ethnic Albanian rebel movement, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), stepped up its attacks on Serb targets.

By the summer of 1998, Albanians were mounting mass protests against Serbian rule and police and army reinforcements were sent in to crush the KLA.

 

A deal to end the crisis was brokered by the international community in early 1999. The autonomy plan was reluctantly accepted by the ethnic Albanians but rejected by Milosevic.