NATO to send more KFOR troops to Kosovo

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
22 Sep 08:45
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A commander from the NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR) reveals that approximately an extra battalion of troops will be sent to Kosovo for what he dubbed "training purposes".

Col. Christopher Samulski, commander, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Virginia National Guard, and Kosovo Force Regional Command- East commander, 2020 (138th Public Affairs Detachment KFOR)

NATO has sent reserve forces to train in Kosovo, boosting the alliance's presence in the country by up to 1,000 soldiers. As military tensions with Serbia intensify, a commander for the group suggested that more troops might be sent soon.

According to Reuters, Colonel Christopher Samulski, a regional commander of NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR), told reporters on Wednesday that the soldiers, including the British Army's First Fusiliers, were sent in "as part of normal contingency planning."

Samulski did not say how many reserves had come, but he did say they were a "battalion-size" unit, with a battalion typically consisting of 500 to 1,000 troops. Approximately 3,700 KFOR troops are usually deployed in Kosovo at any one time.

See more: Explainer: The Kosovo-Serbia tension

It is worth noting that in mid-August, Serbian President Alexander Vucic said that Belgrade will remain neutral and does not require any foreign military bases on Serbian soil.

After a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, the Serbian President said that "When it comes to our bilateral relations once again, I underlined to Secretary General Stoltenberg that Serbia is a military neutral country and that we will remain military neutral," adding that Serbia "does not need any foreign military bases."

Furthermore, Vucic said that conducting a military operation in Kosovo that would cross the administrative line had been ruled out by Serbia.

On September 10, Vuvic expressed his concerns over the flow of weapons, technology, and equipment supplied by the United States to Kosovo and other Balkan countries.

"The US will send a new tranche of military aid ... to the countries in the region — Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, North Macedonia — and, as they call it, Kosovo. I wonder what they will tell us after that and what they will demand of us?" Both Americans and all others from the region. Because, as you can see, there's only one country missing from that list, Serbia," Vucic said.

The US says it will send new military assistance to the countries in the region to support them in defending themselves against Russia, as per Vucic.