- British troops join NATO in Kosovo.
- Tensions rise due to Serbian forces.
- Concerns over regional destabilization.
In line with the new agreement, British troops will deploy under NATO command “if required to address the current situation.” They will join the KFOR peacekeeping force, which includes around 4,500 soldiers from about 27 NATO and partner nations.
NATO is increasing its presence in Kosovo with British soldiers due to concerns about a Serbian military buildup along the border.
The 1st Battalion of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment has made hundreds of personnel available for peacekeeping operations.
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Tensions escalated last weekend after a deadly siege at a monastery in northern Kosovo, where masked gunmen and local police were involved in a standoff.
The attackers barricaded themselves inside with priests and visiting pilgrims, resulting in the death of a police officer and three of the gunmen during a 12-hour gunbattle.
According to the White House National Security Council, it was a “well-coordinated and planned” attack, marking one of the worst incidents since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, accused Serbia of being behind the assault, although these allegations have been denied.
Mr. Kurti welcomed NATO’s decision and suggested that last Sunday’s attack implies Serbia, which does not recognize Kosovo’s sovereignty, aims to destabilize the country with Russia’s assistance.
He remarked, “They are looking for a time machine. They want to rewind the clock thirty years. But that will not happen.”
US officials are monitoring a significant deployment of Serbian troops along the border with Kosovo, and according to Mr. Murti, “they have a lot of military equipment” from Russia and China.
In accordance with the new agreement, British forces will be deployed under NATO command “if required to address the current situation.”
They will be part of the KFOR peacekeeping force, which comprises about 4,500 soldiers from approximately 27 NATO and partner nations.
In the West, there are concerns that Russia, acting through Serbia, may seek to destabilize the Balkans and divert at least some attention away from Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
