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Mitrovica, Kosovo

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Kosovska Mitrovica
Municipality and city
Косовска Митровица (Kosovska Mitrovica)
Mitrovica (Mitrovicë)
Bridge over the Ibar, which divides the city in two.
Bridge over the Ibar, which divides the city in two.
CountryKosovo[a]
DistrictDistrict of Kosovska Mitrovica
Government
Area
 • Land350 km2 (140 sq mi)
Population
 • Total110.310 (municipality)
 • Density315/km2 (820/sq mi)
 As of 1998[1]
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
40000
Area code+381 28
WebsiteKosovska Mitrovica Template:Sq icon

Kosovska Mitrovica (Albanian; Mitrovicë or Mitrovica, Serbian: Косовска Митровица or Kosovska Mitrovica; Turkish: Mitroviça), is a city and municipality in northern Kosovo[a]. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous district.

Since the end of the Kosovo War of 1999 it has been divided between an ethnic-Albanian-majority south and an ethnic-Serb-majority north (the whole city, however, has an Albanian majority). Its northern part is the de facto capital of the Serb enclave of North Kosovo.

Name

The city was named "Civitas Sancti Demetrii" in the 14th century after Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki[2], a name that later became "Mitrovica", as happened to other locations in the Balkans named after Saint Demetrius[3][4].

After Tito's death, when each of the constituent parts of Yugoslavia had to have one place named with the word 'Tito' (or 'Tito's') included, the city was also known as Titova Mitrovica (Титова Митровица) in Serbian or Mitrovica e Titos in Albanian.

The city is known as Kosovska Mitrovica (Косовска Митровица) in Serbian listenⓘ and Mitrovica or Mitrovicë in Albanian.

History

Early history

The city is one of the oldest known settlements in Kosovo, being first mentioned in written documents during the Middle Ages. The name Mitrovica comes from the 14th century, from Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki,[citation needed] but there are some other legends on the origin of its name.[citation needed] Near Kosovska Mitrovica is the medieval fortress of Zvečan, which played an important role during the Kingdom of Serbia under Nemanjić rule.

Under Ottoman rule Kosovska Mitrovica was a typical small Oriental city. Rapid development came in the 19th century after lead ore was discovered and mined in the region, providing what has historically been one of Kosovo's largest industries.

Kosovska Mitrovica during and after the Kosovo War

Both the town and municipality were badly affected by the 1999 Kosovo War. According to the OSCE, the area had been the scene of guerrilla activity by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) prior to the war. It came under the command of NATO's French sector; 7,000 French troops were stationed in the western sector with their headquarters in Kosovska Mitrovica. They were reinforced with a contingent of 1,200 troops from the United Arab Emirates, and a small number of Danish troops.

In the aftermath of the war, the town became a symbol of Kosovo's ethnic divisions. The badly damaged southern half of the town was repopulated by an estimated 50,000 Albanians. Their numbers have since grown with the arrival of refugees from destroyed villages in the countryside.[citation needed] Most of the approximately 6,000 Roma fled to Serbia, or were relocated to one of two resettlement camps, Chesmin Lug, or Osterrode, in North Kosovska Mitrovica. In the north, some 8-10,000 Kosovo Serbs remained in their homes, with 2,000 Kosovo Albanians and 1,700 Muslim Slavs living in discrete enclaves on the north bank of the Ibar river. Almost all of the Serbs living on the south bank were displaced to the north. In 2003 the city had an estimated total population of 75,600 and the municipality's population is estimated to be some 105,000.

Kosovska Mitrovica became the focus for ethnic clashes between the two communities, exacerbated by the presence of nationalist extremists on both sides. The bridges linking the two sides of the town were guarded by armed groups determined to prevent incursions by the other side. Because of the tense situation in the town, KFOR troops and the UNMIK police were stationed there in large numbers to head off trouble. However, violence and harassment was often directed against members of the "wrong" ethnic community on both sides of the river, necessitating the presence of troops and police checkpoints around individual areas of the city and even in front of individual buildings.

On March 17, 2004, the drowning of an Albanian child in the river prompted major ethnic violence in the town and a Serbian teenager was killed. Demonstrations by thousands of angry Albanians and Serbs mobilised to stop them crossing the river degenerated into rioting and gunfire, leaving at eight Albanians dead and at least 300 injured. The bloodshed sparked off the worst unrest in Kosovo seen since the end of the 1999 war.

A Bosniak resident of southern Mitrovica was murdered after being overheard speaking Serbian[5].

The local prison was the scene of an international incident on April 18, 2004 when Ahmad Mustafa Ibrahim, a Jordanian policeman working as a UN prison guard, opened fire on a group of UN police officers leaving a class, killing three.[6][7]

Kosovo independence

Tensions rose considerably in the city of Kosovska Mitrovica after the Kosovo declared independence on February 17, 2008. Some 150 Kosovo Serb police officers refused to take orders from the ethnic Albanian authorities and were suspended.

Serb protesters prevented ethnic Albanian court employees from crossing the bridge over the Ibar River. UN police raided and seized the courthouse on March 14 using tear gas against Serbs and leaving some of them wounded.

The explosion of a hand-grenade injured several UN and NATO staff on March 17; UN forces were later withdrawn from the northern part of Mitrovica.[8]

The Serbian minority has formed the Community Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija in the city, but it has no police force. Serbs refuse to accept the jurisdiction of Kosovo courts, [9] Republic of Kosovo leaders have expressed concern over the future of the region, stating their commitment to keep Kosovska Mitrovica part of Kosovo and prevent crime or war there.[10]

Demographics

Before the 1999 Kosovo War, the municipality had a population estimated by the OSCE to comprise some 116,500 people, 81% of them Kosovo Albanian, 10% Serb and the remainder other nationalities (notably Roma). Most of the non-Albanians lived in the town of Kosovska Mitrovica, which had a population of 68,000 – 71% Kosovo Albanian, with approximately 9,000 Serbs and 10,141 other nationalities. Kosovo Albanians lived throughout the city, but most Serbs lived in the north side, divided from the predominantly Albanian south side by the Ibar River.

Ethnic Composition, Including IDPs
Year/Population Albanians  % Serbs  % Bosniaks  % Roma/Ashkali  % Turks  % Total
1961 34,481 57.55 21,533 35.94 59,913
1991 82,837 78 10,698 10.2 5,205 4.96 4,851 4.63 431 0.41
1998 95,231 81.74 10,447 8.96
Current figure N/A N/A 2,000 1.76 545 0.48 600 0.53
Source: 1991 census: FRY Institute of Statistics and UNHCR statistics of 1998/OSCE estimates. It is noted that the 1991 census was highly politicised and is thus unreliable.
Ref: OSCE [2][dead link]

Official Languages

In Kosovska Mitrovica Municipality Albanian, Serbian and Turkish languages are official languages.[11]

Economy

The Trepča Mines are located in Kosovska Mitrovica, though they are currently not operating. With the closure of the Trepča complex, the influx of refugees and IDPs and the lack of investment, unemployment (estimated at approximately 77%) has been prevalent among all communities in the Kosovska Mitrovica municipality.

Culture and education

Serbian faculties of the University of Pristina were relocated from Pristina to Kosovska Mitrovica after the Kosovo War.

Sports

Three football clubs are situated in Kosovska Mitrovica: FK Partizan , KF Trepça and KF Trepça'89.

Notable individuals

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Kosovo

Kosovska Mitrovica is twinned with:

See also

Notes and references

Notes:

a.   ^ Template:Kosovo-note

References:

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ http://www.visiteurope.com/ccm/where_to_go/city/detail/?nav_cat=677231&lang=en_US;jsessionid=6FE43C4AE5854A5703805233DD7CA988.as2&item_url=/NTO-Serbia/unique-pages/regions/cities/kosovska-mitrovica.en
  3. ^ http://www.b92.net/eng/travel/index.php?nav_id=34434
  4. ^ http://www.dekanski.com/AD/Mitrovica/CivitasStDemetrii.htm
  5. ^ http://balkanproject.org/roma/mitrovica.shtml
  6. ^ Wood, Nicholas (2004-04-18). "3 U.N. Police Die in Shootout At Kosovo Jail". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
  7. ^ "International press on the UN police shooting incident in Mitrovica". ERPKIM Archive. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
  8. ^ BBC, Peacekeepers hurt in Kosovo blast, 17.03.08
  9. ^ TransConflict, Kosovo – what to do with the north, ad interim, April 2010
  10. ^ UNMIK Headlines, March 2, 2009
  11. ^ OSCE Implementation of the Law on the Use of Languages by Kosovo Municipalities
  12. ^ Korce Municipality. "Twin cities" (in Albanian). Korce Municipality. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
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