NATO moves to scale down KFOR

se times
01/11/2010
KFOR will be halved -- from around 10,000 to 5,000 troops -- over the next few months, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.
(The Sofia Echo, Euobserver - 30/10/10; AP, AFP, Reuters, BBC, RTTNews, Deutsche Welle, B92, NATO - 29/10/10)
NATO has decided to further scale down its peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, the Alliance's head announced on Friday (October 29th), citing the improved security situation on the ground. As a result of the planned phased reduction, KFOR troop numbers are expected to fall to a tenth of the initial 50,000 deployed in the Balkan country more than a decade ago.
"Over the next few months, KFOR will progressively reduce its presence to around 5,000 troops in total, marking one more step in the adaptation of KFOR to a deterrent presence," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement Friday.
A similar move approved more than a year ago saw the international force of roughly 15,000 soldiers at the time cut to just under 10,000 troops in January.
"The security conditions in Kosovo continue to improve, which is a positive sign not only for Kosovo, but for the whole region," the statement posted on NATO's website quoted Rasmussen as saying. "Local institutions are increasingly capable of assuming responsibility for security tasks."
Established in June 1999, in the wake of NATO's 78-day air campaign to drive Serbian forces out of Kosovo, KFOR currently comprises troops from 32 countries, including 25 NATO member states. Operating under a UN mandate, their task is to maintain a safe and secure environment in the country, which declared independence from Serbia in February 2008.
Belgrade and Kosovo Serbs remain opposed to that move however. While there have been no major outbursts of violence in the country since its secession, ethnic tensions in its Serb-dominated north have persisted.
KFOR, EULEX and Kosovo police stepped up security measures around the divided town of Mitrovica following a clash between Serbs and Albanians in September, in which nine people, including three international troops, were wounded. They also warned that they would not tolerate any violence in Kosovo.
"We have seen in the recent weeks and months ... gunfire, explosives, hand grenades, even clashes and riots with intensive gunfire like a civil war type scenario and so I had to react," the AP quoted KFOR Commander Major General Erhard Buhler as saying Friday.
"This is clearly a threat to the people," the German general told reporters at a press conference in Pristina, noting that Kosovo's Serb-dominated north remained the only troublesome region in the country.
The downsizing plan would not undermine the NATO-led force's capacity to deal with any potential problems, however. The move would be accompanied by steps to "significantly increase mobility, air mobility, flexibility and readiness of KFOR contingents as a compensation for the reduction," said Buhler.
His remarks echoed the assurances made by Rasmussen in his statement.
"KFOR will remain able to deploy forces quickly and effectively whenever and wherever necessary, including with robust reserves," the NATO chief said. "KFOR's mission to guarantee a safe and secure environment in Kosovo remains unchanged."
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