Kosovo: a new Nation.

Only a day ago, a new republic was born. Kosovo, near Russia and Serbia, has already recieved recognition from the United States as well as the EU. Both the US and the EU supported the independence of Kosovo. There were countries that disagreed with the split. Russia and Serbia were opposed to the creation of this new nation. Kosovo was the southern most tip of Serbia until declaring it's independence.
The United Nations has been in Kosovo since the Kosovo war which ended in 1999. Though Serbian rule was still technically in effect, the region had been basically self-governed since then. The current situation in Kosovo has been described as tense by US National Guards stationed in the country to keep the peace. The tense feelings are expected to remain the same for the next couple of days, until the young country is considered legit by its neighbors as well as countries around the world.
The region has been a hot spot for war for many years. Since the Balkan Wars in 1912, the area has been involved in World War 1, World War 2, and namely the Kosovo War in the late 80's and continued to the late 90's. It was a devastating war which resulted in NATO bombings throughout the Yugoslavia. After the war, the UN took control. The situation has remained calm up until today, where on February 17, 2008, Kosovo was able to declare independence from Serbia.