1. Kosovo 1999 Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Bill ClintonSlobodan Milosevic

2. Kosovo belongs to Serbia. We will never give it up. Our ancestors fought against a Muslim army at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, but were defeated. Kosovo is part of our history! In 1999, the population of Kosovo was mostly Albanian Muslims with a small Serb minority.

3. Kosovo 1989 - 1999 Up till 1989, Kosovo had its own government In 1989, Slobodan Milosevic abolished it, and it was ruled directly from Belgrade (Serbian capital) Serbian President Milosevic

4. The Albanian Muslims carried out peaceful resistance until 1996 The Kosovan Liberation Army (KLA) emerged to start attacks against Serbian police,army and civilians Kosovan Liberation Army

5. The KLA demanded independence for Kosovo Attacks increased in 1997 and 1998 Milosevic sent in more troops to stop the rebellion There was growing evidence of civilians being targeted by Serbian troops Milosevic reassures Serbians that he will deal with the Kosovan problem

6. Kosovo 1998 - 1999 The victims of a massacre of 24 Albanians Muslims by Serbian forces in February 1998 at Drenice

7. Milosevic was determined to keep Kosovo and protect the Serbs living there from being attacked The United Nations protested at the level of violence being used by Serbian forces

8. NATO warned Serbia to back off and withdraw their forces from Kosovo Thousands of Albanian Muslim refugees fled from their homes to escape the violence

9. Kosovo 1999 In early 1999, the KLA and Serbia tried to reach agreement at a peace conference in France The KLA signed an agreement, but Serbia refused because they would not accept NATO troops in Kosovo

10. The Kosovo War 1999 NATO warned Serbia to stop its ethnic cleansing in Kosovo or face the consequences When Milosevic ignored the warnings, NATO started air strikes at military targets in Kosovo and Serbia in March 1999

11. NATO air strikes soon targeted bridges, oil refineries, power supplies and communications. Even Belgrade was attacked

12. Tens of thousands of Kosovo Albanian refugees were pouring out of the province into neighbouring countries, with stories of killings, atrocities and forced expulsions at the hands of Serb forces.

13. The NATO bombings lasted for 78 days In June, Milosevic decided to surrender, and agreed to the removal of Serb forces from Kosovo and a NATO-led force to come in and keep the peace (KFOR )

14. Kosovo 1999-2008 Kosovo remained part of Serbia It was controlled by the United Nations and NATO, working with a new government NATO had to deal with violent clashes between Albanian Muslims and Serbs Talks started about the future of Kosovo in 2006

15. Kosovo’s Independence On February 17 th, 2008, Kosovo declared its independence. Serbia said the declaration was illegal. Europe's major powers and the United States recognised Kosovo’s independence Serbia has said that it will never accept that Kosovo is no longer part of their territory

16. Kosovo’s New Flag