An assembly set up by Kosovo Serbs is due to hold its first session in the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica.
An assembly set up by Kosovo Serbs is due to hold its first session in the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica.
Its inaugural meeting takes place on the day Serbs remember their defeat by invading Ottoman forces in 1389.
Its inaugural meeting takes place on the day Serbs remember their defeat by invading Ottoman forces in 1389.
The 53 seat assembly has been organised in defiance of the Kosovo government and the United Nations.
The 53 seat assembly has been organised in defiance of the Kosovo government and the United Nations.
The assembly has been formed by hard line Serb politicians in Kosovo and was set up to act as a co-ordination body with the Serb authorities in Belgrade.
The assembly has been formed by hard line Serb politicians in Kosovo and was set up to act as a co-ordination body with the Serb authorities in Belgrade.
The composition is based on elections that Serbia held in Kosovo last month - a ballot which the UN and the Kosovo government said was illegal. The first meeting of the Kosovo Serb Assembly is being held in the flash point town of Mitrovica where a riot in March left one UN policeman dead.
The composition is based on elections that Serbia held in Kosovo last month - a ballot which the UN and the Kosovo government said was illegal. The first meeting of the Kosovo Serb Assembly is being held in the flash point town of Mitrovica where a riot in March left one UN policeman dead.
A spokesman for the UN has described the Kosovo Serb assembly as a virtual reality.
A spokesman for the UN has described the Kosovo Serb assembly as a virtual reality.
It will have no real powers but it will be a challenge to the authority of the majority ethnic Albanian government in Kosovo and will strengthen the parallel Serb institutions.
It will have no real powers but it will be a challenge to the authority of the majority ethnic Albanian government in Kosovo and will strengthen the parallel Serb institutions.
The opening session is symbolically taking place just hours after a ceremony in Kosovo to mark St Vitus Day, one of the most important dates in the Serb calendar.
The opening session is symbolically taking place just hours after a ceremony in Kosovo to mark St Vitus Day, one of the most important dates in the Serb calendar.
Security is being stepped up as several thousand Serbs are expected to travel to Kosovo to mark the event.
Security is being stepped up as several thousand Serbs are expected to travel to Kosovo to mark the event.
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