Belgrade  - Serbs in northern Kosovo on Monday called for the Serbian parliament to hold a session in the northern Kosovo town of Mitrovica on February 17 in an effort to show Kosovo Albanians that their declaration of independence is illegal, local media reported.

Kosovo's Albanian majority declared independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008 and was recognized by more than 50 countries including the United States and a majority of European Union. But Serbia opposes Kosovo's independence.

After the declaration of independence, Kosovo was de facto divided into a southern Albanian and a northern Serb part. Serbs hold a majority in northern Kosovo and have their own parallel institutions situated in the northern town of Mitrovica. They are backed by Belgrade.

The joint session of Kosovo's Serbs and the Serbian parliament would "annul all illegal acts of the puppet state of Kosovo and show the world that the Serbian parliament is determined to protect the sovereignty and integrity of Serbia," according to Radovan Nicic, a Kosovo Serb leader.

Nicic called all those who see Kosovo as "part of Serbia" to show up in Mitrovica on February 17. It added that those who don't turn up will demonstrate that they don't care about Kosovo remaining part of Serbia.

So far, the Serbian parliament in Belgrade haven't answered the call. (dpa)