PRISTINA: Kosovo, which celebrates 10 years of independence on Saturday, has a flag that few people care about, four international telephone codes and a judoka hero.
Here are five things to know about the youngest European country.
1. Kosovo’s flag bears the shape of its territory and six yellow stars, for its six main ethnic groups, on a blue background. It is mockingly called a towel by members of Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority, who believe it was adopted largely to please Western patrons. The flag flown all over Kosovo is that of neighboring Albania — a black double-headed eagle on a red background. The American stars and stripes are also prevalent, owing to Washington’s strong support in Kosovo’s struggle for independence from Serbia. In the areas that are home to Kosovo’s ethnic Serb minority, the “towel” is rarely seen and instead, the Serbian flag dominates.
2. Owing to Serbia’s opposition to independence, three other countries’ dialling codes are in use in Kosovo: Serbia’s +381 for landlines plus Monaco’s +377 and Slovenia’s +386 for mobile phones. Kosovo was allocated +383 as its own code after striking a deal with Belgrade. This is already being used on the popular messaging app Viber and is due to be fully operational later this year.
3. Kosovo beat its big brother Albania to an Olympic medal during the country’s first appearance at the Games in Rio in 2016, when national heroine Majlinda Kelmendi took gold in judo. Kosovo uses sport as a diplomatic tool and gained admission to the International Olympic Committee in 2014 to the great displeasure of Serbia. It proudly celebrated skier Albin Tahiri, Kosovo’s lone athlete in last week’s opening parade in Pyeongchang and its first sportsman in a Winter Olympics.
4. Kosovo is home to around 1.8 million people but another 700,000 Kosovo Albanians are estimated to live abroad, mostly in Germany and Switzerland. The diaspora, which has its own ministry, sent some 620 million euros ($760 million) to Kosovo in the first 10 months of 2017, making it a major contributor to the functioning of the country, alongside international aid.
5. Some 95 percent of Kosovo Albanians are Muslims, but one of the Balkan region’s largest Roman Catholic cathedrals sits in the center of Pristina. Dedicated to Saint Mother Teresa, of ethnic Albanian heritage, the church is a symbol of gratitude to the West for supporting independence.
Five things to know about Kosovo as it celebrates 10 years of independence
Five things to know about Kosovo as it celebrates 10 years of independence
Fear grips Congo’s Uvira as M23 rebels take control, displacing 200,000
- On Saturday, the situation in Uvira still had not returned to normal
- “Some people left the city, but we stayed,” Maria Esther, a 45-year-old mother of 10, told AP
UVIRA, CONGO: A climate of fear reigned Saturday in Uvira, a strategic city in eastern Congo, days after it fell to the Rwanda -backed M23 group, as fighting in the region escalated despite a US mediated peace deal.
The Associated Press gained rare access to the city, which was the Congo government’s last major foothold in South Kivu province after the provincial capital of Bukavu fell to the rebels in February. Its capture allows the rebels to consolidate a broad corridor of influence across the east.
M23 said it took control of Uvira earlier this week, following a rapid offensive launched at the start of the month. Along with the more than 400 people killed, about 200,000 have been displaced, regional officials say.
On Saturday, the situation in Uvira still had not returned to normal. There was absolute silence and no traffic, apart from military jeeps circulating on the empty streets. The banks were closed and people have not resumed their jobs — only a few dared to go out during the day, and no one ventured outside after sunset, with armed M23 fighters patrolling the city.
“Some people left the city, but we stayed,” Maria Esther, a 45-year-old mother of 10, told AP. “But the situation hasn’t returned to normal, we haven’t resumed our usual activities because there’s no money circulating.”
Joli Bulambo, another resident of Uvira, said: “People thought that the situation that had happened in Goma with the deaths would be the same here in Uvira, but fortunately, there were not many deaths because God helped.”
M23’s latest push
The rebels’ latest offensive comes despite a US-mediated peace agreement signed last week by the Congolese and Rwandan presidents in Washington.
The United States accused Rwanda of violating the agreement by backing a deadly new rebel offensive in the mineral-rich eastern Congo, and warned that the Trump administration will take action against “spoilers” of the deal.
The accord didn’t include the rebel group, which is negotiating separately with Congo and agreed earlier this year to a ceasefire that both sides accuse the other of violating. However, it obliges Rwanda to halt support for armed groups like M23 and work to end hostilities.
Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, said on X on Saturday: “Rwanda’s actions in eastern DRC are a clear violation of the Washington Accords signed by President Trump, and the United States will take action to ensure promises made to the President are kept.”
There was no immediate reaction from Rwanda.
The rebels’ advance pushed the conflict to the doorstep of neighboring Burundi, which has maintained troops in eastern Congo for years, heightening fears of a broader regional spillover.
A struggle for mineral rich territory
More than 100 armed groups are vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo, near the border with Rwanda, most prominently M23. The conflict has created one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises, with more than 7 million people displaced, according to the UN agency for refugees.
Local UN partners report that more than 200,000 people have been displaced across the province since Dec. 2. Civilians also have crossed into Burundi, and there have been reports of shells falling in the town of Rugombo, on the Burundian side of the border, raising concerns about the conflict spilling over into Burundian territory.
Congo, the US and UN experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23, which has grown from hundreds of members in 2021 to around 6,500 fighters, according to the UN
Rwanda, Congo and M23 trade accusations
Congo’s Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner on Friday accused Rwanda of trampling on the peace agreement, which she described as bringing “hope of a historic turning point.”
She warned, however, that the “entire process … is at stake,” and urged the Security Council to impose sanctions against military and political leaders responsible for the attacks, ban mineral exports from Rwanda and prohibit it from contributing troops to UN peacekeeping missions.
“Rwanda continues to benefit, especially financially but also in terms of reputation, from its status as a troop-contributing country to peacekeeping missions,” Wagner told AP.
Bertrand Bisimwa, deputy coordinator of the AFC/M23 rebel movement told AP in an exclusive interview Friday that peace commitments have remained largely theoretical. “Regardless of the ceasefire agreements we sign and the mutual commitments we make, nothing is implemented on the ground,” he said.
Asked about the expansion of M23 operations toward the Uvira region, Bisimwa said the region was a long-standing hot spot of ethnic tensions and violence. “For a long time, people were attacked and killed because of their community affiliation,” he said.
On Friday, Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe told diplomats that Congo had declared it would continue fighting in M23 recaptured territories and it was only after M23 retaliated that the international community “suddenly woke up.”
“The DRC has openly declared that it would not observe any ceasefire and would instead continue fighting to recapture territories held by the AFC/M23, even as the peace process unfolded,” he said.
While Rwanda denies the claim that it backs M23, it acknowledged last year that it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo, allegedly to safeguard its security. UN experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo.
