Germany to send hundreds of additional troops to Kosovo
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Berlin, Aug 2, IRNA -- Germany is to send hundreds of additional soldiers to Kosovo after a week of violence near the border with Serbia left one Kosovo police officer dead and brought peacekeepers under fire, the website of the German army announced Tuesday.
Some 550 German troops will be dispatched to Kosovo to support the NATO-led peacekeeping mission, KFOR.
Germany is KFOR's largest troop provider in Kosovo, deploying around 900 soldiers.
A German parliamentary mandate allows the stationing of up to 1,850 troops in Kosovo.
NATO still has nearly 6,000 troops based in Kosovo, 12 years after the war that ended Serbia's rule in that Balkan country.
The latest violence was triggered by a Kosovo police action to control two disputed border crossings in northern Kosovo, sparking anger among local Serbs who want the former province of Kosovo to remain part of Serbia.
After police withdrew, a mob of Serb militants set one border post ablaze and fired on NATO peacekeepers sent to restore order.
OT**1412
Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 30504508
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
