The disputed territory of Kosovo has declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and has been only partly recognised as such. About 100,000 Serbs remain in Kosovo mainly in the North that has remained a de-facto part of Serbia and in Serb majority enclaves in the South. But the fact is that the Serbian population seeks to leave and settle in Serbia, creating sparsely inhabited territories that will become difficult to hold. Statue of Prince Lazar, a medieval Serbian ruler who died 1389 at the battle of Kosovo confronting the invading Ottoman Empire. This is one of the reasons Serbia considers Kosovo as its heartland. Kosovska Mitrovica, Northern Kosovo, October 2018