Mission NATO in Kosovo (Kfor) announced today that it has begun the gradual withdrawal of its permanent presence from the main bridge in Kosovska Mitrovica, which separates the city into two parts.
"In accordance with the improvement of the security situation in Kosovo, this is part of the process of optimizing the deployment and presence of KFOR. The process will be gradual and based on the conditions on the ground, and it takes place in close coordination with all relevant actors, including representatives of institutions in Kosovo and international organizations, as well as representatives of the Kosovo Police and EULEX", stated in the answer to Radio Free Europe (RSE).
It is added that the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, General Milan Mojsiloviฤ, is also regularly informed.
"Our personnel are adequately deployed and ready to respond to all relevant events, in accordance with KFOR's long-standing mandate emanating from the United Nations. KFOR will maintain a visible presence in the southern and northern parts of Mitrovica, as well as in the north of Kosovo, continuing to contribute to maintaining a safe and secure environment for all communities," the mission stated.
The NATO mission in Kosovo previously announced that it had begun the "gradual integration of the Kosovo Police into the security architecture of KFOR in the Visoki Deฤani monastery."
After the conflict in 1999, Kosovska Mitrovica was divided into a northern part with a Serbian majority and a southern part where the majority are Albanians, and today they are two separate municipalities.
Since the end of the war, the Ibro bridge has been under the supervision of KFOR because it was known for ethnic conflicts, according to RSE.
Drecun: Decision dangerous for Serbs
The President of the Parliamentary Committee for Defense and Internal Affairs, Milovan Drecun, assessed that reducing the number of KFOR members and transferring part of the mandate to Kosovo institutions would be dangerous for the Serbian people.
Commenting on the announcements that part of the security of the Visoki Deฤani monastery and the control of the bridge on the Ibar will be left to Kosovo institutions, Drecun told Radio Belgrade that this is a wrong step by KFOR, which corresponds to Pristina, raises the security risk for Serbs and is not in accordance with Resolution 1244 of the United Nations Security Council.
He added that KFOR under the command of the Turkish general behaves very biased and undertakes the activities that Pristina asks of it.
Drecun emphasized that KFOR must be the first and only force that will provide a safe environment for Serbs, but that in the north, where KFOR is intensively present, there are 18 percent fewer Serbs in the previous five years.
Source: FoNet
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