Information about Kosovo Force

The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a NATO-led international force responsible for establishing a safe and secure environment in Kosovo, a province of Serbia which has been under UN administration since 1999.

KFOR entered Kosovo on June 12 1999 under a United Nations mandate, two days after the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1244. 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. 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.

Objectives

NATO’s initial mandate was: ^[2]

• to deter renewed hostility and threats against Kosovo by Yugoslav and Serb forces;
• to establish and maintain a secure environment in Kosovo, including public safety and civil order;
• to demilitarise the Kosovo Liberation Army;
• to support the international humanitarian effort;
• to coordinate with and support the international civil presence.

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:

• assistance with the return or relocation of displaced persons and refugees;
• reconstruction and demining;
• medical assistance;
• security and public order;
• security of ethnic minorities;
• protection of patrimonial sites;
• border security;
• interdiction of cross-border weapons smuggling;
• implementation of a Kosovo-wide weapons, ammunition and explosives amnesty programme;
• weapons destruction;
• support for the establishment of civilian institutions, law and order, the judicial and penal system, the electoral process and other aspects of the political, economic and social life of the province.

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.^[3]

Structure

KFOR contingents were originally grouped into 4 regionally-based multinational brigades. 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.^[4]

• Multinational Task Force North (MNTF-N):

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

• Multinational Task Force East (MNTF-E):

MNTF-E is deployed in the eastern region of Kosovo, headquartered in Urosevac and is commanded by Brigadier General Douglas B. Earhart (U.S. Army) since december 6, 2006.
Contributing nations: Armenia, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, United States (Lead nation). [1]

• Multinational Task Force South (MNTF-S):

MNTF-S is deployed in the southern region of Kosovo, headquartered in Prizren. 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).

• Multinational Task Force West (MNTF-W):

MNTF-W is deployed in the western region of Kosovo, headquartered in Peje/Pec and is commanded by Brigadier General Antonio Venci (Italian Army).
Contributing nations: Italy (lead nation), Spain, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania.

• Multinational Task Force Center (MNTF-C):

MNTF-C is deployed in the central region of Kosovo, headquartered in Lipljan and is commanded by Brigadier General Hegarty (Irish Army).
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.^[5]

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

•  United States (7,000 - now 3,000)
•  Germany (6,000 - now 3,000)
•  Italy (5,000 - now 3,000)
•  United Kingdom (19,000 troops - now ~1,500)
•  France (7,000 - now 1,500)
•  Russia (3,000? - now 0)
•  Netherlands (2,000)
•  Spain (1,200)
•  Slovenia (600)

Other contributing NATO Nations included:

Belgium  Bulgaria  Canada (? - now 0)  Czech Republic  Denmark (ca 380)

Estonia  Greece  Hungary  Iceland (? - now 0)  Lithuania

Latvia  Luxembourg  Norway  Poland (800)  Portugal (1 Battalion [500~1000])

Romania  Slovakia  Turkey

Other contributing non-NATO Nations have included:

Argentina (? - now 0)  Armenia  Austria (ca 580)  Azerbaijan

Finland  Georgia (183)  Ireland  Morocco  India (? - now 0)  Malaysia (? - now 0)

Philippines (? - now 0)  Sweden (ca 440)  Switzerland (max 220)  Mongolia (? - now 0)  United Arab Emirates (? - now 0)  Ukraine (1,300)

KFOR Commanders

1. Mike Jackson ( United Kingdom, June 12, 1999 - October 8, 1999),
2. Klaus Reinhardt ( Germany, October 8, 1999 - April 18, 2000),
3. Juan Ortuño Such ( Spain, April 18, 2000 - October 16, 2000),
4. Carlo Cabigiosu ( Italy, October 16, 2000 - April 6, 2001),
5. Thorstein Skiaker ( Norway, April 6, 2001 - October 3, 2001),
6. Marcel Valentin ( France, October 3, 2001 - October 4, 2002),
7. Fabio Mini ( Italy, October 4, 2002 - October 3, 2003),
8. Holger Kammerhoff ( Germany, October 3, 2003 - September 1, 2004),
9. Yves de Kermabon ( France, September 1, 2004 - September 1, 2005),
10. Giuseppe Valotto ( Italy, September 1, 2005 - September 1, 2006),
11. Roland Kather ( Germany, September 1, 2006 - August 31, 2007),
12. Xavier de Marnhac ( France, August 31, 2007 - Present).

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 [2]

The Guardian East is another monthly publication created by the US led Multi-National Task Force - East. [3]

See also

• Kosovo status process
• United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR)
• IFOR
• SFOR
• European Union Force (EUFOR)
• Kosovo Protection Corps
• Kosovo Police Service
• NATO
• Peacekeeping

References and external links

• KFOR official site (NATO)
• K-For: The task ahead (from BBC News, June 13, 1999)
• First deaths in K-For operation (from BBC News, June 14, 1999)
• Memorial honors soldiers' sacrifices June 2002: 68 soldiers have died since KFOR entered Kosovo.
• Nato force 'feeds Kosovo sex trade' (from The Guardian, May 7, 2004)
• Slobodan Milosevic Freedom Center, The Hague Very partisan pro-Serb web site
• Radio KFOR