Excerpt:
Overwhelmed by cheap Chinese competition and divided by rival Muslim groups, Serbia's once-thriving Sandzak region is languishing in a deep economic and social malaise that has sparked the first calls for autonomy.
The remote area tucked between Kosovo and Montenegro was once the centre of the Balkans' black-market textile industry, with factories churning out high-quality replicas of brand-name jeans and shoes to hungry local markets squeezed by sanctions.
But today its main city Novi Pazar is a picture of decline, with many factories standing idle and more than 50 percent of the population estimated at 400,000 to 500,000 unemployed, local officials said.
Teenagers hang around in the city's main square with little to do. Most are glum about their future prospects, and complain about politicians who promise more than they deliver and "muftis who drive around in BMWs or SUVs".