Teacher Luljeta Rama introduces Kosovo's new national flag to her class in Kosovska Mitrovica, Kosovo, on Feb. 19, 2008, the first school day after Kosovo declared its independence. (Bela Szandelszky/Associated Press)
In Depth
The Balkans
Timeline: Kosovo independence
Last Updated February 19, 2008
By The Associated Press
Key dates in Kosovo's decades-long — and often bloody — drive to gain independence from Serbia:
1968: First pro-independence demonstrations by ethnic-Albanians in Kosovo; many arrested.
1974: Yugoslav constitution declares Kosovo an autonomous province within Serbia.
1981: Ethnic-Albanians hold street demonstrations demanding Kosovo be declared a republic; dozens injured.
1989: Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic strips Kosovo of its autonomy.
1990: Yugoslavia sends in troops to impose control. Serbia dissolves Kosovo's government.
1991: Separatists proclaim Kosovo a republic, which is recognized by neighbouring Albania.
1992: Ibrahim Rugova, who advocates a peaceful path to independence, is elected president of so-called republic.
1996: Pro-independence Kosovo Liberation Army emerges, claims responsibility for bomb attacks against police targets.
March 1998: Dozens killed in Serbian police action against suspected Albanian separatists.
April 1998: 95 per cent of Serbs reject international mediation on Kosovo in referendum. Balkan Contact Group imposes new international sanctions against Yugoslavia.
July-August 1998: KLA seizes control over 40 per cent of Kosovo before being routed in Serbian offensive.
September 1998: Serbian forces attack villages in Drenica region; 22 ethnic-Albanians found massacred in central Kosovo.
October 1998: NATO allies authorize air strikes against Serbian military targets.
October-December 1998: U.S. envoy Christopher Hill tries to broker political settlement. Scattered daily violence undermines fragile truce.
Jan. 15, 1999: 45 ethnic-Albanians slain outside Racak. International officials demand a war crimes investigation.
February 1999: Both sides agree to Kosovo peace conference.
March 1999: Belgrade authorities reject the internationally brokered peace deal, while ethnic-Albanians sign it.
March 24, 1999: NATO launches air strikes against Yugoslavia that last 78 days. Canadian CF-18s take part.
March-June 1999: Serbian forces push out 800,000 ethnic-Albanians who take shelter in neighbouring Albania and Macedonia.
June 10, 1999: Milosevic agrees to withdraw troops from Kosovo after agreeing to a proposal for NATO to move in and the province to be run by United Nations. NATO halts the air strikes.
June 12, 1999: 50,000 NATO-led peacekeepers, including several hundred Canadian troops, begin deployment in Kosovo. Ethnic-Albanian refugees stream back, while Serbian forces and Serbs begin fleeing Kosovo in the wake of revenge attacks.
February 2002: Rugova elected Kosovo's first president since coming under UN rule. A parliament and a government are also voted in.
October 2003: First direct talks between Serbian and Kosovo-Albanian leaders since 1999 end with no agreement.
March 2004: Worst outbreak of ethnic violence since the war as ethnic-Albanian mobs attack Serbs.
January 2006: Rugova dies of lung cancer in Pristina.
February 2006: UN-mediated talks on the future status of Kosovo begin.
July 2006: Top ethnic-Albanian, Serbian leaders meet to discuss Kosovo's status; no breakthrough.
October 2006: Serbia holds referendum, approving new constitution declaring Kosovo an integral part of the country.
Jan. 21, 2007: Serbia holds parliamentary elections. Radicals win most votes, but not enough to form a government.
Jan. 26, 2007: UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari presents his plan to Contact Group of the United States, Britain, Germany, Italy, France and Russia.
February 2007: Ahtisaari presents proposal to Serbia's president and ethnic-Albanian leaders, detailing recommended guidelines to Kosovo's eventual statehood.
April 2007: Russia rejects Ahtisaari proposal in the UN Security Council.
June 2007: U.S. President George W. Bush says Kosovo needs to be independent "sooner rather than later."
July 2007: Kosovo's prime minister says UN-sponsored process has failed and calls for declaration of independence by the end of the year.
August 2007: Envoys from U.S., EU and Russia "troika" start 120 days of further negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia in attempt to reach an agreement.
Nov. 17, 2007: Former rebel leader Hashim Thaci wins Kosovo elections, promises swift independence.
December 2007: Troika tells UN chief talks failed to produce breakthrough.
Feb. 3, 2008: Serbian President Boris Tadic narrowly wins re-election over ultranationalist Tomislav Nikolic.
Feb. 17, 2008: Kosovo declares independence.
— With files from The Canadian Press.
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