From 1929 to 1941 Preševo was part of the Vardar Banovina. During the April War the Kingdom of Yugoslavia capitulated after 12 days of war against the Axis Powers. On April 20, Bulgaria occupied part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, including Preševo. The royal authoritarian dictatorship of Bulgaria occupied the area until September 7, 1944, when they handed the area over to Nazi Germany. The Albanian collaborationist regime along with Balli Kombëtar subsequently took over the area. In mid-November, the Partisans forced the Balli Kombëtar to retreat. From 1945 until 1992 Preševo was part of Socialist Republic of Serbia, within SFR Yugoslavia. Breakup of Yugoslavia (1991–99) In 1992, the Albanians in the area organized a referendum in which they voted that Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac should join the self-declared assembly of the Republic of Kosova. However, no major events happened until the end of the 1990s. During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, a total of 161 depleted uranium bullets have been recovered in Reljan near Preševo in southern Serbia. The Serbian government has funded the cleanup operation of the Reljan site with 350,000 euros. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, and nearby Kosovo War which lasted until 1999, between 1999 and 2001, an ethnic Albanian paramilitary separatist organization, the UÇPMB, raised an armed insurgency in the Preševo Valley, in the region mostly inhabited by Albanians, with a goal to occupy these three municipalities from Serbia and join them to the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosova. Following the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević, the new Serbian government suppressed the violence by 2001 and defeated the separatists. NATO troops also helped the Serbian government by ensuring that the rebels do not import the conflicts back into Kosovo. In 2009, Serbia opened a military base Cepotina 5 kilometers south of Bujanovac, to further stabilize the area. Modern Today, Preševo is located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia. On 7 March 2017, the President of Albania Bujar Nishani made a visit to the municipalities of Bujanovac and Preševo, in which Albanians form the ethnic majority. Settlements Aside from the town of Preševo, the municipality includes the following settlements: Aliđerce Berčevac Bujić Bukarevac Bukovac Buštranje Cakanovac Cerevajka Crnotince Čukarka Depce Donja Šušaja Gare Golemi Dol Gornja Šušaja Gospođince Ilince Kurbalija Ljanik Mađare Miratovac Norča Oraovica Pečeno Rajince Ranatovce Reljan Sefer Slavujevac Stanevce Strezovce Svinjište Trnava Žujince Demographics According to the 2002 census results, the municipality