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Pocket badge of the KFOR in both latin and cyrillic letters
Pocket badge of the KFOR in both latin and cyrillic letters

The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a NATO-led international force responsible for establishing a safe and secure environment in Kosovo, the self-proclaimed, independent and partially recognized landlocked country in the Balkans, which has been under UN administration since 1999. The Cyrillic alphabet (səˈrɪlɪk also called azbuka, from the old name of the first two letters is actually a family of Alphabets, subsets of which are used by The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has been involved in active Peacekeeping missions since 1994, and coordinates with UN Peacekeeping operations A landlocked country is commonly defined as one enclosed or nearly enclosed by land The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar)

KFOR entered Kosovo on June 12, 1999 under a United Nations mandate, two days after the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1244. Events 1381 - Peasants' Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 authorised an international civil and military presence in Kosovo, then part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia At the time of UN Security Council Resolution 1244, Kosovo was facing a grave humanitarian crisis, with military and paramilitary forces from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in daily engagement. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Савезна Република Југославија / Savezna Republika Jugoslavija) or FRY was a federal state The Kosovo Liberation Army or KLA ( Albanian: Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës or UÇK) was a Kosovar Albanian guerilla group which sought Ethnic tensions were at their highest and the death toll had reached a historic high. Nearly one million people had fled Kosovo as refugees. [1]

As of 2007, KFOR consisted of approximately 16,000 troops. KFOR’s presence remains crucial to guarantee security and stability in Kosovo as the diplomatic process led by the United Nations to define its future status moves forward.

After the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence the commander of NATO forces in Kosovo said on February 20, 2008 that he did not plan to step up security in the tense north despite violent attacks by Kosovo Serb which forced the temporary closure of two boundary crossings between Kosovo and Serbia. The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence was an act of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government Assembly of Kosovo, adopted on 17 February 2008 which declared Events 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a Dowry payment 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Serbia (Србија Srbija) officially the Republic of Serbia (Република Србија Republika Srbija) is a Landlocked Country [2]

Contents

Objectives

Map of the KFOR-Sectors, 2002
Map of the KFOR-Sectors, 2002

NATO’s initial mandate was: [3]

Today, KFOR focuses on building a secure environment in which all citizens, irrespective of their ethnic origins, can live in peace and, with international aid, democracy and civil society are gradually gaining strength. KFOR tasks have included:

The Contact Group countries have said publicly that KFOR will remain in Kosovo to provide the security necessary to support the provisions of a final settlement of Kosovo's status. The Contact Group is the name for an informal grouping of influential countries that have a significant interest in policy developments in The Balkans. [4]

Structure

KFOR Tasks Forces, 2006
KFOR Tasks Forces, 2006
Ukrainian soldiers on foot, patrolling in Serbian village near Brezovica
Ukrainian soldiers on foot, patrolling in Serbian village near Brezovica
German Army KFOR soldiers and a Marder armoured personnel carrier in southern Kosovo in 1999
German Army KFOR soldiers and a Marder armoured personnel carrier in southern Kosovo in 1999
German Bundeswehr KFOR soldiers patrol southern Kosovo in 1999
German Bundeswehr KFOR soldiers patrol southern Kosovo in 1999

KFOR contingents were originally grouped into 4 regionally-based multinational brigades. The Ukrainian Ground Forces (Cухопутні Війська ЗСУ Sukhoputni Viys’ka ZSU) are the land force component of the Military of Ukraine. The German Army (Deutsches Heer heɐ) is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Marder (German for " Marten " is a German Infantry fighting vehicle operated by the German Army as the main weapon of the Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Bundeswehr ( German for "Federal Defence Force") is the name of the unified Armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany The brigades were responsible for a specific area of operations, but under a single chain of command under the authority of Commander KFOR. In August 2005, the North Atlantic Council decided to restructure KFOR, replacing the four existing multinational brigades with five task forces, to allow for greater flexibility with, for instance, the removal of restrictions on the cross-boundary movement of units based in different sectors of Kosovo. [5]

MNTF-N is deployed in the northern region of Kosovo, headquartered in Novo Selo and is commanded by Brigadier General Eric Arnaud (French Army).
Contributing nations: Belgium, Denmark, France (Lead nation), Greece, Estonia, Luxemburg, Morocco.

MNTF-E is deployed in the eastern region of Kosovo, headquartered in Uroševac and is commanded by Brigadier General John E. Uroševac or Ferizaj (Ferizaj Serbian: Урошевац Uroševac; Turkish: Ferizoviç) is a city and municipality in Davoren (U. S. Army) since November, 2007. The majority of U. S. Soldiers are members of the National Guard who are mobilized for the KFOR mission.

Camp Bondsteel serves as the headquarters for Multinational Task Force East (MNTF-E). Camp Bondsteel is the main base of the United States Army under KFOR command in Kosovo. Camp Monteith has also been used by the KFOR. Camp Monteith is a military base near Gnjilane, Kosovo and located about 20 miles east of Camp Bondsteel.

Contributing nations: Armenia, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, United States (Lead nation). The official sites are http://www.tffalcon.hqusareur.army.mil/ and http://www.kfor9.org/home

MNTF-S is deployed in the southern region of Kosovo, headquartered in Prizren. Prizren ( Albanian: Prizren or Prizreni, Serbian Cyrillic: Призрен is a historical city located in southern Kosovo. This Task Force has been established on May 15, 2006 and is commanded by Brigadier General Uğur Tarçin (Turkish Army) since May 29, 2007.
Contributing nations: Austria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey (Lead nation).

MNTF-W is deployed in the region of Metohijao, headquartered in Peć and is commanded by Brigadier General Antonio Venci (Italian Army). Peć is a city and municipality in north-western Kosovo. It is also the administrative centre of the homonymous district.
Contributing nations: Italy (lead nation), Spain, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania.

MNTF-C is deployed in the region of Drenica, headquartered in Lipljan and is commanded by Brigadier General Hegarty (Irish Army). Lipljan or Lipjan ( Albanian: Lipjan or Lipjani; Serbian: Липљан Lipljan) is a city and municipality in central
Contributing nations: Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland (Lead nation), Latvia, Slovakia, Sweden.

Contributing nations

At its height, KFOR troops numbered 50,000 and came from 39 different NATO / Non-NATO nations. The official KFOR website indicated that in April 2007 a total 16,000 soldiers from 34 countries participated in KFOR. [6]

The nations contributing the most personnel to KFOR at the time included:


Other contributing NATO Nations included:

Other contributing non-NATO Nations have included:

KFOR Commanders

  1. Mike Jackson (Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom, June 12, 1999 - October 8, 1999),
  2. Klaus Reinhardt (Flag of Germany Germany, October 8, 1999 - April 18, 2000),
  3. Juan Ortuño Such (Flag of Spain Spain, April 18, 2000 - October 16, 2000),
  4. Carlo Cabigiosu (Flag of Italy Italy, October 16, 2000 - April 6, 2001),
  5. Thorstein Skiaker (Flag of Norway Norway, April 6, 2001 - October 3, 2001),
  6. Marcel Valentin (Flag of France France, October 3, 2001 - October 4, 2002),
  7. Fabio Mini (Flag of Italy Italy, October 4, 2002 - October 3, 2003),
  8. Holger Kammerhoff (Flag of Germany Germany, October 3, 2003 - September 1, 2004),
  9. Yves de Kermabon (Flag of France France, September 1, 2004 - September 1, 2005),
  10. Giuseppe Valotto (Flag of Italy Italy, September 1, 2005 - September 1, 2006),
  11. Roland Kather (Flag of Germany Germany, September 1, 2006 - August 31, 2007),
  12. Xavier de Marnhac (Flag of France France, August 31, 2007 - Present). The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those The state of Bulgaria (България transliterated bg-Latn ''Balgaria'' The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name language and alphabet of the First Bulgarian The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland ( Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) is a Country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. Armenia (Հայաստան transliterated: Hayastan,) officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն Hayastani Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Azerbaijan ( English; Azərbaycan officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan Respublikası is the largest and most populous country in the South Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and The Philippines ( Filipino: Pilipinas, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (fil ''Republika ng Pilipinas'' RP "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Mongolia (mɒŋˈɡoʊliə, literally Mongol country/nation,) is a Landlocked Country in East General Sir Michael David "Mike" Jackson GCB, CBE, DSO, DL, (born 21 March 1944) is a British The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Lieutenant General Xavier Bout de Marnhac (born 7 July 1951 in Trier Germany) is a French military commander and head of the This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.

Magazines

The KFOR Chronicle is published monthly, and is cleared for public dissemination. It is also published on the Internet for an international audience at http://www.nato.int/kfor/chronicle/

The Guardian East is another monthly publication created by the US led Multi-National Task Force - East. http://www.tffalcon.hqusareur.army.mil/

KFOR fatalities

Main article: Kosovo Forces fatalities

Since the KFOR entered Kosovo in June 1999 157 NATO soldiers have been killed, mostly in accidents. Since the Kosovo Force (KFOR entered Kosovo in June 1999 following the Kosovo War to stabilize the province of Serbia 165 KFOR soldiers from various nations have On October 19, 2004, it was confirmed that 115 NATO soldiers had been killed during the operation. [9] After that 42 more NATO soldiers were confirmed to have died, including 34 Slovak soldiers in a military plane crash in Hungary.

See also

References

  1. ^ NATO Topics: NATO in Kosovo
  2. ^ CNN, No added NATO security in Kosovo, 2008
  3. ^ NATO Topics: Kosovo Force (KFOR)
  4. ^ NATO Topics: Kosovo Force (KFOR) - How did it evolve?
  5. ^ NATO Topics: Kosovo Force (KFOR) - How did it evolve?
  6. ^ KFOR Press Release
  7. ^ http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/05/content_7718316.htm
  8. ^ http://en.rian.ru/world/20080414/105041588.html
  9. ^ British soldier killed in a car accident in Kosovo

External links

The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group.
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