Kosovo
SerbiaKey figures
Who is fighting
Kosovo
- Kosovo Police (including special units)
- Kosovo Security Force
- United States
- European Union (EULEX rule-of-law mission and dialogue facilitation)
- Albania, Croatia (trilateral defence declaration 2025)
Serbia and Kosovo Serb structures
- Serbian Armed Forces
- Serbian Ministry of Interior and Security Information Agency (BIA) personnel operating in Kosovo, per Kosovo authorities
- Srpska Lista (main Kosovo Serb party)
- Civilna zaštita and the Banjska armed group led by Milan Radoičić
- Russia (political support)
- China (political support)
NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR) — international peacekeepers
- KFOR contingents from 31 allied and partner countries
Force sizes are estimates of personnel or fighters, usually from IISS, government statements or specialist reporting; irregular forces are especially hard to count. "(reported)" marks external support that the backer disputes or has not confirmed.
Background
Kosovo, a province of Serbia with an overwhelmingly Albanian population, saw an insurgency by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and a Yugoslav counter-insurgency campaign in 1998–99, followed by NATO's 78-day air campaign from 24 March 1999. The Humanitarian Law Center's Kosovo Memory Book documents 13,535 people killed or disappeared between 1998 and 2000, more than 10,000 of them Albanians; about 850,000 Kosovo Albanians fled the territory and most returned after Yugoslav forces withdrew in June 1999, while well over 100,000 Serbs, Roma and others left afterwards. UN Security Council Resolution 1244 placed Kosovo under UN administration with a NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR), which remains deployed under the same mandate.
Kosovo declared independence on 17 February 2008 and is recognised by around 100 states but not by Serbia, Russia, China or five EU members. An EU-facilitated dialogue since 2011 produced the 2013 Brussels Agreement and the February–March 2023 Brussels/Ohrid agreement on normalisation, which the EU regards as binding; Kosovo has never established the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities it promised in 2013, and Serbia has not implemented its side. The four northern municipalities (North Mitrovica, Zvečan, Zubin Potok and Leposavić) long functioned largely outside Pristina's control, with Serbia funding schools, hospitals, pensions and a parallel administration.
The current crisis began with disputes over licence plates in July 2022, the mass resignation of Kosovo Serbs from Kosovo institutions that November, boycotted local elections in April 2023 and clashes in May 2023 in which dozens of KFOR soldiers were injured. On 24 September 2023 about 30 heavily armed Kosovo Serbs led by businessman and Srpska Lista official Milan Radoičić ambushed police near the Banjska monastery, killing officer Afrim Bunjaku; three attackers died in the ensuing siege. Since then Pristina has closed Serbian post offices, banks, municipal offices and social services in the north, banned the Serbian dinar for payments (February 2024), seized weapons caches and arrested suspected Serbian security operatives; a November 2024 explosion damaged the Ibar-Lepenac canal. Serbia detained Radoičić briefly but has not put him on trial; Kosovo convicted three participants in April 2026. In October 2025 Srpska Lista regained the northern municipalities in local elections.
In 2026 Kosovo endured months of institutional deadlock: a Kurti government confirmed in February fell when parliament failed to elect a president, snap elections on 7 June returned Vetëvendosje with 53 of 120 seats, a new Kurti cabinet took office on 13 September and Justina Shiroka Pula was elected president minutes after the 6 October deadline. Protests against the Specialist Chambers' 16 September conviction of Hashim Thaçi and three other former KLA leaders turned violent in Pristina on 5 October. NATO announced on 12 June 2026 a 'gradual, calibrated and conditions-based' optimisation of KFOR over the following year, and in August began handing Kosovo Police a role at the Mitrovica Ibar bridge and the Visoki Dečani monastery, moves Serbia's president has opposed. The EU-facilitated dialogue continues under special representative Peter Sørensen but has produced no new agreements.
Recent developments
- 14 October 2026Maj. Gen. Roberto Vergori takes command of KFOR, which NATO puts at about 4,700 troops from 31 countries while the June 2026 posture optimisation proceeds. source ↗
- 6 October 2026Parliament elects economist Justina Shiroka Pula president with 81 votes, 13 minutes after the midnight deadline, after passing amendments capping Specialist Chambers sentences at 15 years; a fourth election in two years is avoided. source ↗
- 5 October 2026Protesters demanding limits on the Specialist Chambers clash with police in Pristina; one officer and 11 civilians are injured. source ↗
- 24 September 2026On the third anniversary of Banjska, Kosovo notes that Milan Radoičić and dozens of other suspects remain free in Serbia, where no trial has been opened despite EU and NATO calls. source ↗
- 22 September 2026EU High Representative Kaja Kallas meets Vučić and Kurti and reiterates that the dialogue agreements, including the 2023 Ohrid Agreement, are binding on both sides. source ↗
- 16 September 2026The Kosovo Specialist Chambers sentence Hashim Thaçi and Jakup Krasniqi to 25 years, Kadri Veseli to 18 and Rexhep Selimi to 13 for war crimes committed during the 1998–99 conflict. source ↗
- 10 August 2026KFOR begins withdrawing its fixed post from the northern half of the Mitrovica Ibar bridge in coordination with Kosovo Police and EULEX, and starts integrating Kosovo Police into security at the Visoki Dečani monastery; Serbia's president objects. source ↗
- 28 May 2026Kosovo authorities take control of four Serbia-operated railway stations in the north, drawing protests from Belgrade; a week earlier police arrested seven directors of Serbia-run institutions in Gračanica. source ↗
Timeline
- 28 February 1998The Kosovo War begins between the Kosovo Liberation Army and Yugoslav security forces.
- 24 March 1999NATO starts a 78-day bombing campaign against Yugoslavia; some 850,000 Kosovo Albanians flee or are expelled.
- 10 June 1999UN Security Council Resolution 1244 places Kosovo under UN administration with the NATO-led KFOR; Yugoslav forces withdraw.
- 17 March 2004Two days of ethnic riots kill 19 people and drive thousands of Serbs from their homes.
- 17 February 2008Kosovo declares independence; Serbia, Russia, China and five EU states refuse recognition.
- 19 April 2013EU-brokered Brussels Agreement commits Kosovo to an Association of Serb-majority Municipalities and Serbia to dismantling parallel security structures; neither is fully implemented.
- 31 July 2022Kosovo Serbs erect barricades over new licence-plate and ID rules, opening the northern Kosovo crisis; Serbs quit Kosovo institutions in November.
- 29 May 2023Clashes in Zvečan over the installation of Albanian mayors elected in boycotted polls injure dozens of KFOR peacekeepers; NATO reinforces the mission.
- 24 September 2023About 30 armed Kosovo Serbs led by Milan Radoičić ambush police at Banjska, killing officer Afrim Bunjaku; three attackers are killed. Serbia later releases Radoičić without trial.
- 29 November 2024An explosion damages the Ibar-Lepenac canal supplying water and power plants; Kosovo calls it a Serbia-linked terrorist attack and arrests suspects.
- October 2025Srpska Lista regains control of the four Serb-majority northern municipalities in Kosovo's local elections.
- 24 April 2026A Pristina court convicts three Kosovo Serbs of terrorism over Banjska, with two life sentences and one 30-year term; Serbia rejects the verdict.
- 12 June 2026NATO announces a gradual, calibrated and reversible reduction of KFOR over the following year; in August KFOR begins integrating Kosovo Police at the Mitrovica bridge and Dečani monastery.
- 16 September 2026The Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague sentence former president Hashim Thaçi and three other ex-KLA leaders to 13–25 years for war crimes, prompting protests in Kosovo.
- 6 October 2026After a year of deadlock and three elections, parliament elects Justina Shiroka Pula president minutes after the constitutional deadline, averting a fourth election.
Casualties and displacement in detail
| Measure | Low | High | What the figure covers · source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total killed (cumulative) | 13,535 | 13,625 | 1998–2000 Kosovo war: the Humanitarian Law Center's Kosovo Memory Book lists 13,535 people killed or disappeared (2015 count: 10,812 Albanians, 2,197 Serbs, 526 Roma, Bosniaks and others); later HLC updates cite up to 13,625. Post-war violence (e.g. 19 killed in the March 2004 riots, 4 killed at Banjska in September 2023) adds a few dozen and is not included. hlc-rdc.org ↗ |
| Combatants killed | 2,584 | 4,139 | 1998–99 war: KLA fighters 1,500–2,131; Yugoslav soldiers and police about 808 killed by the KLA (HLC) and 276–1,200 killed by NATO bombing; 2 NATO personnel died in non-combat incidents. Sources differ widely on Yugoslav military losses. en.wikipedia.org ↗ |
| Civilians killed | 10,317 | 10,910 | 1998–2000: 8,676–9,269 Kosovo Albanian civilians killed or missing and 1,641 non-Albanian civilians (1,196 Serbs, 445 Roma and others), per HLC-based figures; roughly 450–530 civilians killed by NATO bombing are counted within these totals by some sources and separately by others. en.wikipedia.org ↗ |
| Wounded | – | – | No reliable total for the 1998–99 war. In the current crisis: dozens of KFOR soldiers injured in May 2023 (NATO reported about 30 at the time; later tallies up to 93), 24 Kosovo police wounded at Banjska in 2023, 12 injured in Pristina protests on 5 October 2026. en.wikipedia.org ↗ |
| Deaths in the last 12 months | 0 | 0 | No conflict-related deaths reported in Kosovo between October 2025 and October 2026 in UN Security Council, NATO or press reporting; the last fatal clash was the Banjska attack of 24 September 2023. securitycouncilreport.org ↗ |
| Internally displaced | 590,000 | 590,000 | About 590,000 Kosovo Albanians were displaced inside Kosovo at the height of the 1999 war (UNHCR), in addition to those who fled abroad; the great majority returned by late 1999. No significant conflict displacement has occurred in the 2022–2026 crisis. en.wikipedia.org ↗ |
| Refugees abroad | 848,000 | 863,000 | Kosovo Albanians who fled to Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro and beyond in 1999 (UNHCR); most returned within months. After the war 113,128 (UNHCR, 2019) to more than 200,000 (HRW, 2004) Serbs, Roma and other non-Albanians left Kosovo, mainly for Serbia, and most remain displaced. en.wikipedia.org ↗ |
Intensity classification: Below the UCDP 25-death threshold: no conflict-related deaths have been reported since the Banjska attack of 24 September 2023 (one Kosovo police officer and three attackers killed). Included as a frozen conflict of major public interest, with NATO's KFOR still deployed; 'minor' is the lowest available bucket..
Countries affected
Frequently asked questions
Who is fighting in the Kosovo–Serbia dispute (northern Kosovo)?
Kosovo (Kosovo Police (including special units), Kosovo Security Force), supported by United States, European Union (EULEX rule-of-law mission and dialogue facilitation), Albania, Croatia (trilateral defence declaration 2025); against Serbia and Kosovo Serb structures (Serbian Armed Forces, Serbian Ministry of Interior and Security Information Agency (BIA) personnel operating in Kosovo, per Kosovo authorities, Srpska Lista (main Kosovo Serb party), Civilna zaštita and the Banjska armed group led by Milan Radoičić), supported by Russia (political support), China (political support); against NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR) — international peacekeepers (KFOR contingents from 31 allied and partner countries).
How many people have been killed?
Estimates range from 13,535–13,625 killed as of 15 October 2026. 1998–2000 Kosovo war: the Humanitarian Law Center's Kosovo Memory Book lists 13,535 people killed or disappeared (2015 count: 10,812 Albanians, 2,197 Serbs, 526 Roma, Bosniaks and others); later HLC updates cite up to 13,625. Post-war violence (e.g. 19 killed in the March 2004 riots, 4 killed at Banjska in September 2023) adds a few dozen and is not included. Civilian deaths are put at 10,317–10,910. Figures come from the sources listed on this page and differ in method; see the caveats above.
Is the Kosovo–Serbia dispute (northern Kosovo) still ongoing in 2026?
Status as of 19 October 2026: Frozen — Serbia does not recognise Kosovo's 2008 independence, and the four Serb-majority municipalities of northern Kosovo have been the scene of a rolling crisis since 2022, peaking in the September 2023 Banjska attack in which a Kosovo Serb paramilitary group killed a police officer. In 2026 the situation is tense but non-violent: Pristina has dismantled most Serbia-run parallel institutions and convicted three Banjska attackers, Serbia has still not tried the group's leader Milan Radoičić, and NATO decided in June 2026 to begin a gradual, reversible reduction of its roughly 4,700-strong KFOR force. Kosovo's own politics were paralysed for much of the year by three elections in 18 months and a backlash against the Hague-based Specialist Chambers, which sentenced former president Hashim Thaçi to 25 years in September 2026.
When did it start?
The current phase began on 31 July 2022, but the underlying conflict dates back to 1998 — 4 years, 2 months ago.
Sources
- Security Council Report — Kosovo, October 2026 Monthly Forecast securitycouncilreport.org
- NATO — KFOR mission page nato.int
- International Crisis Group — Kosovo crisisgroup.org
- Humanitarian Law Center — Kosovo Memory Book hlc-rdc.org
- Human Rights Watch — World Report 2026: Serbia/Kosovo hrw.org
- Balkan Insight — Banjska anniversary (Sept 2026) balkaninsight.com
- Wikipedia — North Kosovo crisis (2022–2026) (index to primary sources) en.wikipedia.org
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