The North Atlantic Treaty Organization said Wednesday it has started deploying extra troops in Kosovo as the province's ethnic Albanian leaders move to declare independence from Serbia.
| This means we can remove the American forces, right? |
The Italian battalion of 560 soldiers had "started its deployment" for a mission that would run for a month until early March, a spokesman for the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force, Bertrand Bonneau, told reporters.
Leaders of Kosovo's 90% Albanian population are expected to unilaterally declare independence in the coming weeks after negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina on the province's future status failed. Such a move is likely to be backed by the U.S. and a number of European countries, but faces strong opposition from Serbia and its ally Russia.
Some observers believe the additional troops were sent in because of fears of violence.
Bonneau said the mission was made up of regulars who would "operate and train in Kosovo as part of routine operations" but it also served to "demonstrate NATO's ability to reinforce in-theater NATO forces at very short notice."
Separately, Kosovo's police force confirmed Wednesday it has prepared a special plan for the day when Kosovo is expected to declare independence. "The code name of the operation plan is 'Status'," police spokesman Veton Elshani told reporters. "The main goal of the plan is protection of life and property of the citizens as well as of public order and peace," he said, refusing to disclose further details.
Kosovo newspapers said the plan envisages an increased police presence at Serb-populated enclaves. "This plan has been prepared by the police and it is not military. KFOR surely has its own plans," they quoted senior police official Reshat Maliqi as saying. |