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British NATO troops arrive in Kosovo

2023-10-06 22:00:51, Kosova & Bota CNA

NATO announced that 200 British soldiers have arrived in Kosovo on Friday to reinforce its Kosovo peacekeeping mission, KFOR, following a deadly attack on Kosovo Police in the north of the country last month and heightened tensions in the region.

"The troop deployment is a measured step to ensure that KFOR has the forces it needs to fulfill its UN mandate of maintaining a secure environment and ensuring free movement for all the people in Kosovo", NATO said in a press release.

The UK decided to send additional troops to its contingent in Kosovo, which already has 400 British soldiers, at the request of the Supreme Alliance Commander for Europe, SACEUR, US General Chris Cavoli.

NATO's decision to increase peacekeeping troops in Kosovo comes about two weeks after the Kosovo Police was attacked by an armed group of Serbs in the village of Banjské, in the municipality of Zveçan, on September 24, where Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku was killed.

In the ensuing fighting in the village monastery, three Serbian attackers were killed.

Kosovo police found and confiscated an extraordinary arsenal of weapons in and around Banjska in the days following the attack.

Days after the attack, the United States and the European Union raised concerns that Serbia was moving troops along the border with Kosovo. This was denied by Serbia.

On October 3, the White House said that Serbia has begun withdrawing troops from the border with Kosovo.

Serbia has rejected Kosovo's accusations that it is behind the attack described by the Kosovo authorities as an "attempt to annex the north of Kosovo".

The responsibility for the attack in Banjska was taken by Millan Radoicic, the former chairman of Lista Serbe, the main party of Serbs in Kosovo that has the support of Belgrade.

On 3 October, Radoiçiqi was arrested, interrogated and ordered to be held in police custody for up to 48 hours, before being released a day later, but without a passport and barred from going to Kosovo.

KFOR currently has around 4,500 troops in Kosovo from 27 NATO countries and partner countries./ REL