Turks
Kosovo was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the year of 1375 and Turks started to settle down in this place according to the Ottoman traditions. Pursuant to the war in 1877-78, the domination of Ottomans in the region was attenuated and Turks became a minority in the region. Turks living in the region that was lost as a result of the Balkan Wars suffered three great migrations and massacres in the period of the kingdom and the communist Yugoslavia. The lands of Turks were forcibly confiscated under the name of the land nationalisation reorm in the years of 1930s and they were forced to migration. The second one took place between the years of 1956-60. Turks suffered severe tortures under the title of the campaign for the collection of arms and consequentially, the second migrations took place.
Pursuant to these oppression and tortures imposed by the Serbians, Turks were subject to the applications of assimilation by the Albanians between the years of 1968-1990. Upon the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Albanian-Serbian struggles broke out. As a result of these struggles, Kosovo that had an autonomous status for years was subjected to connection to the Serbians.
Despite these negative events, the number of the Turks that stayed in Kosovo was 12 thousands according to the official statistics and 20-25 thousands in real. They were able to survive and to preserve Turkish culture in those regions. Particularly Turks who constitute a majority in Pristine and Dragasta have continued their struggles to invigorate Turkish identity through their cultural societies and political parties against Serbians and Albanians.