According to the 2002 census, there are 61,647
Albanians in
Serbia if the
Kosovo Albanians are not counted. Of those, 59,952 live in
Central Serbia, mostly in the
Preševo Valley, at the far south of Serbia near the border with
Kosovo. They mainly live in the municipalities of
Preševo (Albanian: Preshevë), and
Bujanovac (Albanian: Bujanoc), as well as in the part of the municipality of
Medveđa (Albanian: Medvegjë).
Geography
In the municipalities of
Preševo and
Bujanovac Albanians form the majority of population (89.1% in Preševo and 54.69% in Bujanovac according to the 2002 census). In the municipality of Medveđa, Albanians are second largest ethnic group (after
Serbs), and their participation in this municipality was 28.67% in 1991 and 26.17% in 2002.
The region of Bujanovac and Preševo is widely known as the
Preševo Valley (Serbian: Прешевска Долина,
Preševska Dolina, Albanian:
Lugina e Preshevës).
History
In 1992, the Albanians of southern Serbia organized a referendum in which they voted that Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac should join Kosovo. Between 1999 and 2001, an ethnic Albanian guerilla organization, the
Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac (in Albanian
Ushtria Çlirimtare e Preshevës, Medvegjës dhe Bujanocit, UÇPMB), was operational in this region with a goal to secede these three municipalities from the
FR Yugoslavia and join them to Kosovo upon achieving...
Read More