A history of divisions: Serbs and ethnic Albanians

A piece of land slightly smaller than Connecticut is all that Kosovo's Serbs and ethnic Albanians have in common. They speak different languages, have different religious beliefs and hold different versions of history.

Most ethnic Albanians are Muslims, descendants of Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians who converted to Islam during 500 years of Ottoman Turkish rule. Serbs are staunchly Orthodox, following Christian traditions similar to the Russians, Greeks and Bulgarians.

The mostly-Muslim ethnic Albanians believe they are descendants of the Illyrians, the Balkan tribe which inhabited the region in ancient times. Serbs regard Kosovo as the cradle of their civilization. Once the seat of the Serb Orthodox church, the province is still home to numerous Orthodox monasteries. The 1389 defeat of the Serb army in Kosovo by the Turks is an integral part of Serb history. The Serbs regained Kosovo in 1912 during the First Balkan War, when Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and Bulgaria defeated the Ottoman Turks and ended more than 500 years of Turkish domination.

Before the NATO air strikes began, ethnic Albanians accounted for an estimated 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million people. Before World War II, the Serbs made up about half of Kosovo's population. But a high birth rate among ethnic Albanians and a steady Serb exodus from the rural province for more prosperous urban areas of Serbia caused a decline in the Serb population in Kosovo.

In 1974, Yugoslav leader Josip Tito granted Kosovo autonomy and its own vote in the Yugoslav federal council -- essentially, allowing it to function as a republic in all but name. Current conflict started in 1989, when the Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic, now the Yugoslav president, revoked Kosovo's autonomous status and instituted military rule.

This, and other, articles can be found at http://cnn.com/SPECIALS/1998/10/kosovo/timeline/

KOSOVO - A timeline of tensions

1389 | 1918 | 1929 | 1941 | 1945 | 1974 | 1981 | 1987 | 1989 | 1991 | 1992 | 1995 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999

1389

Serbs fight -- and lose -- an epic battle to Ottoman Turks in Kosovo, which the Serbs consider their ancestral homeland. Despite the loss, "Kosovo Polje," as it is known, is celebrated in Serbian folklore and remains a symbol for ethnic pride.

1918

After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of World War I, Kosovo becomes part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

1929

The country becomes an absolute monarchy, its regions divided without regard to racial composition and its name is changed to Yugoslavia.

1941

German army invades in April, and the country is later occupied by Italians, Hungarians and Bulgarians.

1945

At end of World War II, Yugoslavia becomes a communist republic.

1974

A revised Yugoslav constitution grants autonomy to Kosovo, a Serbian province largely occupied by ethnic Albanians. The Albanians, most of whom are Muslim, institute Albanian-language schools and observe Islamic holidays.

1981

Demonstrations by Albanian students against the working and living conditions in Kosovo -- only 12 percent of the Albanians in Kosovo are employed; they also have the highest birthrate in Europe -- turn bloody, escalating the exit of Serbs and Montenegrins from the province.

1987

Slobodan Milosevic rises to power in Yugoslavia, fanning the flames of Serbian nationalism while Albanian civil rights continue to erode.

1989

Escalating tensions between Serbs and ethnic Albanians and fear of secession prompt Milosevic to strip the province -- now 90 percent Albanian -- of its autonomy. The army and police are sent in battle strength to keep order.

1991

Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina declare independence from Yugoslavia, triggering ethnic fighting between Croats, Muslims and Serbs. A year later, all-out war breaks out in Bosnia.

1992

Kosovo's Albanian majority votes to secede from Serbia and Yugoslavia, and indicates a desire to merge with Albania.

Serb forces massacre thousands of Bosnian Muslims and carry out "ethnic cleansing" by expelling Muslims and other non-Serbs from areas under Bosnian Serb control.

Late that year, U.S. President George Bush warns the Serbs that the United States will use force if the Serbs attack Kosovo.

1995

A peace agreement to end the Bosnian War is signed late in the year by leaders of Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia.

1997

The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), a small militant group, begins killing Serb policemen and others who collaborate with the Serbs. They also establish areas from which the Serbs are driven entirely.

1998

February -- Milosevic sends troops into the areas controlled by the KLA, destroying property and killing 80 Kosovars, at least 30 of them women, children and elderly men. The killing provokes riots in Pristina, the Kosovar capital, turns the conflict into a guerrilla war and raises again the specter of ethnic cleansing by the Serbs.

May -- Milosevic and Ibrahim Rugova, an advocate of a peaceful path to independence for Kosovo, hold talks for first time, but the Albanian side boycotts further meetings.

July and August -- KLA seizes control of 40 percent of Kosovo before being defeated in a Serb offensive.

September -- Serb forces attack central Kosovo, where 22 Albanians are found massacred. U.N. Security Council calls for immediate cease-fire and political dialogue.

October -- NATO allies authorize airstrikes against Serb military targets, Milosevic agrees to withdraw troops, facilitate the return of refugees and accept unarmed international monitors.

October-December -- U.S. envoy Christopher Hill tries to broker political settlement. Scattered daily violence undermines fragile truce.

December -- Yugoslav troops kill 36 KLA rebels. Six Serbs killed in a cafe, prompting widespread Serb protests. Fighting in north kills at least 15.

1999

January 15 -- 45 ethnic Albanians slain outside Racak. International officials demand a war crimes investigation.

January 29 -- Serb police kill 24 Kosovo Albanians in a raid on a suspected rebel hideout. Western allies demand warring sides attend Kosovo peace conference or face NATO airstrikes.

February 6-17 -- First round of talks between Kosovo Albanians and Serbs in Rambouillet, France. Serbs refuse to consider NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo; Albanians agree to sign when talks resume.

March 13 -- A series of daytime bombings kill seven people and injures dozens, all ethnic Albanians, in the government-held towns of Kosovska Mitrovica and Podujevo; both sides accuse the other.

March 15 -- Talks resume in Paris and the Kosovo Albanians confirm to international officials that they are ready to sign the peace deal unilaterally "at a time and place of your choosing."

March 18 -- Kosovo Albanians sign peace deal calling for interim broad autonomy and for 28,000 NATO troops to implement it. Serb delegation refuses to sign accord.

March 19 -- Talks suspended.

March 20 -- International peace monitors evacuate, citing security and possibility of NATO airstrikes.

March 22 -- Holbrooke arrives in Belgrade on a last-ditch bid to convince Milosevic to accept the accord.

March 23 -- Serb parliament solidly rejects NATO demands to send peacekeeping troops into Kosovo. Holbrooke ends his mission, saying Milosevic has refused to agree to a plan for autonomy for Kosovo, secured by NATO troops. The failure of diplomacy opens the way for NATO airstrikes.

March 24 -- NATO launches airstrikes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report