NATO is beefing up its presence in Kosovo with UK troops, amid considerations a few build-up of Serbian forces alongside the border.
Hundreds of troopers from the first Battalion of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment have now been made obtainable to a peacekeeping drive.
Tensions rose final weekend after a lethal siege at a monastery in northern Kosovo, with masked gunmen and native police partaking in a standoff.
The assailants barricaded themselves inside with clergymen and visiting pilgrims – and an officer was killed together with three of the gunmen in a 12-hour shootout.
It one of many worst incidents since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, with the White House National Security Council claiming it was a “well-coordinated and planned” assault.
Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti has accused Serbia of orchestrating the assault – allegations which have been denied.
Mr Kurti has welcomed NATO’s resolution and claims final Sunday’s assault suggests Serbia, which does not recognise Kosovo’s sovereignty, desires to destabilise the nation with Russia’s assist.
He mentioned: “They are in search of a time machine. They want to turn the clock back by 30 years. But that is not going to happen.”
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US officers are monitoring a big deployment of Serbian troops alongside the border with Kosovo, with Mr Murti claiming “they have a lot of military equipment” from Russia and China.
Under the brand new association, British troops are being positioned underneath NATO’s command “if needed, to address the current situation”.
They will type a part of the KFOR peacekeeping drive, which consists of about 4,500 troops from about 27 NATO and companion international locations.
There are fears within the West that Russia, performing by means of Serbia, could need to destabilise the Balkans and shift at the very least a few of the consideration from Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Source: information.sky.com”