Why the Kosovo-Serbia Crisis is Getting Worse

Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo are high once again after last week saw the deadliest incident between the two in over a decade. So in this video, we’re going to look at what happened last week, why tensions are escalating, and what might happen next.

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00:00 Introduction
01:17 Context
02:35 The Ohrid Deal
03:23 Why Relations Have Been Deteriorating
05:03 What Just Happened?
07:03 What Happens Next?
07:39 Nebula

[errorcrj]

The 2020s summarised:
"You get a border conflict!
And you get a border conflict!
Everybody gets a border conflict!"

[CrysisMan]

Just one note, Kosovo was not a federal entity in Yugoslavia but part of SR Serbia.

[HeavyHoursStudio]

Also one thing to keep in mind because it's missrepresented in this video.
Kosovo was autonomous province of Serbia, not a Republic in Yugoslavia.
Vojvodina is has the same status in Serbian Constitution and is integral part of Serbia.
Yugoslavia was comprised of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia.

[SourVodka]

A Serb, a Croat and a Bosniak are arrested in Iran for drinking alcohol.

The court sentences them to 10 whip lashes each, but everyone is allowed to make a special request beforehand.

First up is the Serb. "I request a pillow strapped on my back!" he says. After 2 lashes it rips apart and his back gets completely torn open.

Second up is the Croat. "I request two pillows strapped on my back!" he says. After 4 lashes it rips apart and his back gets completely torn open.

Third up is the Bosniak. The judge says "since you are a fellow muslim, you can make 2 requests!".

"My first request is for 100 lashes!" the Bosniak shouts. Bewildered the judge asks "And your second request?".

"Strap the Serb on my back!"

[nocomment]

Correction: Kosovo and Serbia weren't just a part of Yugoslavia, Kosovo was actually part of Serbia, albeit with huge jurisdiction within Serbia.

[deaansugee]

As a Serb, there's really just one thing I wished the world would understand more: "Serbian military readiness" is a load of baloney sold by our president for ratings. We are at "highest military readiness" 4-5 times per year, and we have "unprecedented amounts of military assets" at the Kosovo border at least 5 times per year - because Serbia is a small country and the Kosovo border is barely 100-150km away from one of our biggest military bases.

[qwertcx]

I always find it interesting that my own country's news channel never talk about these kinds of events. So thank you for keeping so many people informed about Kosovo

[YourDestinY]

Could you stop using the picture from the Bosnian war at 1:34 when talking about the Kosovo war…

[admirjelegenda]

1:31 How was that image in Kosovo? That photo was taken in Bosnia & Herzegovina in the capital of Sarajevo. It was Bosnian Muslims ( the green barrettes ) defending an ambulance from Serbian sniper attacks. War in Bosnia & Herzegovina lasted between 1992-1995. Kosovo war lasted between 1998-1999. Please do your research before you post such mistakes.

[josipfleis]

"Both Serbia and Kosovo was part of Yugoslavia before It fall apart" - has said here. But, it is necessary to say: Kosovo was an autonomous province of Serbia in Yugoslavia (not a state as Croatia or Slovenija was, for instance), and, as it is stated in the Resolution 1244 of UNSC, Kosovo will be a territory under souverenity of Serbia with broad autonomy, until Serbia and Kosovo agreed on international status of Kosovo (which has not happened yet).

[b-art]

Border disputes are our main hobby here in Balkans. If we are not fighting each other we fight with our neighbours about one meter of land or with our family about a shitty inheritance property. It’s a Balkan thing, you would not understand.

[ServantOfBoron]

Kosovo was part of Serbia for centuries. It wasn't a republic in Yugoslavia, Serbia (with Vojvodina and Kosovo) was one of the six republics. What you said in a video creates a completely different picture and might give an impression that one state was forcing another to stay with it. It is a part of one state trying to break of and go on it's own. That is why it is deemed illegal by a Serbian law. Same rule every other country in the world has in their laws. Just an FYI.

[benchapple]

I've been living in Serbia for 9 years and have spoken to a very large number of people about the 'Kosovo' situation. I'm English and have no dog in this fight. This is what I've discovered.
1. This situation will not go away, ever.
2. If the USA / NATO take their foot of Serbia's neck, the Serbian military will storm into Kosovo and reclaim it, slightly in advance of the entire male population doing the same. In fact, part of the Serbian military will be deployed to stop said male population from interfering. And there is no Balkan power that could possibly stop them.
3. Any Serbian premier who signed a treaty ceding Kosovo would be killed.
4. Orthodox Serbs living in Kosovo are persecuted on religious grounds.

Best of luck untangling that.

[ahmetkarl]

Serbians in Kosovo making a mess and demanding autonomy/independence after Kosovons in Serbia made a mess and demanded autonomy/independence.

It just doesn’t end. We are stuck in a loop.

[SJSharks]

If Kosovo broke away from Serbia, then why can’t the 10 areas of mostly Serbs break away from Kosovo?

[JacquesMare]

2:03 Oh the the EU allows Kosovo to act "independent", but wouldn't extend the same courtesy to Catalonia who voted overwhelmingly to break away from Spain.

[stefe]

Imagine having a territory for HUNDREDS OF YEARS and then one day losing it because USA said so. Simple google search solves the problem.

[RobKandell]

“While full on war still feels unlikely…”

That’s what they said in 1914.

[MMerlyn]

Because Kosovars do all sorts of stupid shit knowing they have Europe and the US behind them. But of course you won't admit that, you have to feed the same narrative: Kosovo deserves independence. Even if they don't want independence themselves, they just want to get attached to Albania.

If Artsakh is Azerbaijan and no one bats an eye at the ethnic cleansing there, then Kosovo is Serbia. Northern Kosovo all the more since it's ethnic Serbs living there.

[matejanchaking]

I think that the video is great, but there might be some amount of favoritism. Just for people to know, United Nations Security Council has a resolution (Resolution 1244), which says that Kosovo and Metohija are parts of Serbia. Therefore, many people believe that the autonomous region is occupied. International law is mainly on Serbia's side, but it is not respected by everyone. Why be a hypocrite and defend the international law when we talk about Ukraine (which is correct), but when it comes to Serbia... it is not so important anymore. I do not want any conflicts, and as a Serb I think that we all can live in peace. But international law has to be respected. We must respect and love each others. Stop the conflicts!