The Wire

Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci , is expected to announce the state’s independence from Serbia by the end of this week. The ethnic Albanian dominated Kosovo has been under UN administration since 1999, when NATO expelled Serb forces from the region in the aftermath of a conflict which saw an estimated 8000 to 12 000 civilians killed between 1998 and 1999. The announcement comes after UN- sponsored talks to determine Kosovo’s future failed to come to any conclusions.