Kosovo Independence Day

This day commemorates the declaration of independence in 2008. It has been a disputed territory for some time, since it was ceded by the Ottoman Empire in 1912 to Serbia and Montenegro. After World War II it became part of Yugoslavia, but after its collapse, tensions grew between Serbian and Albanian ethnic groups, leading to the Kosovo War in 1998 and UN intervention. In 2008 it unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia. Serbia saw this as illegal and while they have recently accepted the institutions of Kosovo, they still regards it as an autonomous region with Serbia. But it is recognised as an independent state by 103 out of the 193 United Nations member states.