NATO to reduce Kosovo force by spring
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By NEBI QENA
The Associated Press
Friday, October 29, 2010; 2:42 PM
PRISTINA, Kosovo -- NATO's top commander in Kosovo said Friday the alliance's 10,000-strong peacekeeping force will be halved next year but warned that the country's Serb-run north remains a hotspot.
German Maj. Gen. Erhard Buehler said the decision to reduce the force numbers reflect the improved security situation in Kosovo, which has been largely free of major eruption of violence in the recent years.
NATO deployed 50,000 troops in Kosovo at the end of the alliances war against Serbia in 1999, which also ended the Serb rule there. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Serbia has vowed not to give up its claim over the territory.
The troops have been in charge of the overall security since the end of the war. As the security situation improved over the years, NATO gradually cut back its troops strengths.
Buehler said the only area in Kosovo where tensions persist is the north, where the Serb minority rejects the authority of Kosovo's Albanian-dominated government institutions.
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Article Link
By NEBI QENA
The Associated Press
Friday, October 29, 2010; 2:42 PM
PRISTINA, Kosovo -- NATO's top commander in Kosovo said Friday the alliance's 10,000-strong peacekeeping force will be halved next year but warned that the country's Serb-run north remains a hotspot.
German Maj. Gen. Erhard Buehler said the decision to reduce the force numbers reflect the improved security situation in Kosovo, which has been largely free of major eruption of violence in the recent years.
NATO deployed 50,000 troops in Kosovo at the end of the alliances war against Serbia in 1999, which also ended the Serb rule there. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Serbia has vowed not to give up its claim over the territory.
The troops have been in charge of the overall security since the end of the war. As the security situation improved over the years, NATO gradually cut back its troops strengths.
Buehler said the only area in Kosovo where tensions persist is the north, where the Serb minority rejects the authority of Kosovo's Albanian-dominated government institutions.
More on link
