People & Power

Kosovo: Murder in Mitrovica

What does the killing of a Kosovo Serb politician reveal about the deep fault lines running through the Balkan state?

Two decades ago, the small Balkan state of Kosovo was fighting to secede from neighbouring Serbia, which was resisting the final break-up of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

My film about the current state of play in independent Kosovo became a 'whodunit' - a murder mystery that promised to reveal much about the deeper fault lines that run through this troubled state.

by Glenn Ellis, filmmaker

This has since been recognised by a majority of nations in the world, but not Serbia, which still claims sovereignty over the state.

Relations between the two have never been easy – and are often openly hostile – amid complex claims of wartime atrocities, territorial rights and ancient inter-ethnic grievances.

Ahead of this year’s 10th anniversary of independence, we planned on making a film that looked some the of the stresses and strains in the young country.

But then the mysterious killing of a prominent local politician in the city of Mitrovica gave the story an additional twist. Glenn Ellis and Marko Vesovic went to investigate.

Read more about the killing of Oliver Ivanovic here.