An assembly set up by Kosovo Serbs is due to hold its first session in the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica.
Serbs are converging on Kosovo's divided city of Mitrovica to inaugurate a new assembly set up by Kosovo Serbs.
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 Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanian government and the UN.
The 53 seat assembly has been organised in defiance of the Kosovo government and the United Nations.
Members were elected last month during Serbia's general and municipal elections - a ballot which the UN and Kosovo's government said was illegal.
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.
Kosovo's ethnic Albanians declared independence from Serbia in February, despite Serb and Russian opposition.
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.
Kosovo has been recognised by 43 states, including the United States and most European Union nations - but Serbia and Russia say the move was illegal under international law.
A spokesman for the UN has described the Kosovo Serb assembly as a virtual reality.
'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.
The assembly has been formed by hardline Serb politicians in Kosovo and was set up to help "co-ordination" with the Serb authorities in Belgrade, officials said.
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.
Kosovo's President Fatmir Sejdiu has described it as "an attempt to destabilise Kosovo".
Security is being stepped up as several thousand Serbs are expected to travel to Kosovo to mark the event.
The events of St Vitus day still lie at the core of their national identityA United Nations spokesman called the assembly a "virtual reality".
The BBC's Helen Fawkes in Mitrovica says that although it will have no real powers, the assembly is a challenge to the authority of the majority ethnic Albanian government.
It will strengthen the parallel Serb institutions, she says.
The opening session is taking place on St Vitus day, when Serbs remember their defeat by invading Ottoman forces in 1389 - an event that lies at the core of the Serb claim to Kosovo.
Security has been stepped up in Mitrovica - a flashpoint for recent violence. Earlier this month a gunman attacked a police station. In March, a riot left one UN policeman dead.
Some 90% of Kosovo's two million population are Albanians. Northern Kosovo is dominated by about 50,000 Serbs.
From 1999 to 2008 the province was administered by the UN, after enduring a conflict fuelled by ethnic division and repression.
The country's constitution came into force on 15 June, granting broad autonomy to Kosovo's Serb minority.
However, reconciliation between the majority ethnic Albanians, most of whom support independence, and the Serbs remains elusive.
Are you in Mitrovica? How will the new assembly affect you? Please send your comments using the form below:
Are you in Mitrovica? How will the new assembly affect you? Please send your comments using the form below:
