KFOR and Eulex are vital to the maintenance and security of local communities in northern Kosovo, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) said on Twitter on Tuesday.
Since 1999, the Swiss Army has been involved with SWISSCOY in the Kosovo peacekeeping mission KFOR (English for Kosovo Force), the NATO-led multinational military formation created in 1999 after the end of the Kosovo War. Eulex is the EU’s rule of law mission in Kosovo.
In northern Kosovo, several hundred Kosovo Serbs have set up blockades since December 10 to protest the arrest of a former Serbian police officer and blocked traffic at two border crossings into Serbia.
In view of the tensions, the Serbian government put the army on edge. Army chief Milan Mojsilovic had previously said he was sent to the Kosovo border by President Aleksandar Vucic because of the “complicated situation”.
Kosovo, with an Albanian majority, declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but is still considered a breakaway territory by Belgrade. Despite attempts at mediation by the EU, neighboring countries have been at odds for years. Belgrade encourages the Serb minority in northern Kosovo in their efforts to defy Pristina’s authority.
(SDA)