AIn view of the tense situation in Kosovo, representatives of the SPD, Greens and FDP are in favor of strengthening the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force and are suggesting that additional Bundeswehr forces be sent. “Germany should, in consultation with the allies, quickly check whether the KFOR mandate is being completely fulfilled and send more soldiers to Kosovo,” said the Green politician Anton Hofreiter, chairman of the European Committee in the Bundestag, to the magazine “Spiegel” according to the statement from Sunday.
Hofreiter’s parliamentary group colleague Philip Krämer said that Germany should also examine the extent to which additional Bundeswehr forces can be made available within the framework of the current mandate. Foreign politician Adis Ahmetovic from the ranks of the SPD called for the KFOR mandate to be given more armed forces.
There are currently 85 German soldiers in Kosovo
NATO recently announced an increase in its KFOR troops after tensions between Serbia and Kosovo increased. According to a spokesman for the defense alliance, around 600 additional British soldiers will be stationed in Kosovo, and other allies will also increase their contingents. According to “Spiegel”, the Bundeswehr currently has 85 soldiers stationed in Kosovo. The mandate, which was last extended by the Bundestag in May, provides for up to 400 emergency services.
“There is still room for improvement without having to change the mandate,” said Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), chairwoman of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag, to “Spiegel”. The Defense Committee is keeping an eye on the Kosovo issue. “So if it becomes necessary, we will move more there.”
The Union faction accused the traffic light government of being complicit in the escalation in the dispute between Belgrade and Pristina. “The traffic light has unnecessarily given up Germany’s long-standing and successful leadership role in the Western Balkans,” its defense policy spokesman Florian Hahn (CSU) told the magazine.
Tension in North Kosovo
A week ago on Sunday, deadly clashes occurred in northern Kosovo, the worst incident in the region for years. A police officer was killed in an attack on a Kosovo police patrol. Later, around 30 armed men barricaded themselves in a monastery. Three armed Serbs were killed in exchanges of fire with police.
Kosovo seceded from Serbia in 1999 with NATO help and declared independence in 2008. More than 100 countries, including Germany, recognize independence, but not Serbia, which is reclaiming its former province.
The vast majority of the 1.8 million residents are ethnic Albanians. There are also 120,000 Serbs who live mainly in the north of the country
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