Fifteen years after Kosovo declared independence, 50,000 minority Serbs in the north bordering Serbia refuse to recognise state institutions, receive pay and benefits from Serbia's budget and pay no taxes either to Pristina or Belgrade.
Unrest in the region has intensified more recently since ethnic Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo's Serb-majority area after April elections the Serbs boycotted, a move that led the U.S. and its allies to rebuke Pristina.
