June - ACO - Nato

RUDARE ROADBLOCK REMOVALEarly morning on the first ofJune KFOR successfullyremoved a roadblock in the vicinityof Rudare. This operation wasconducted in order to improvefreedom of movement not only forKFOR, but also for internationalorganizations and for all people ofKosovo. Almost a year ago, in Julylast, the south Rudare roadblockwas established along with othersacross the north in order to preventfurther attempts of unilateralaction by the Pristina governmentimposing customs controls on thenorthern boundary between Serbiaand Kosovo at Jarinje (GATE1) and Brnjak (DOG 31).TheSerb majority in northern Kosovoviewed such actions as an attemptto impose a state border betweenthem and Serbia proper and erectedbarricades both as a means ofprotest towards, and a manifestrejection of, this. The denial ofFreedom of Movement for allwas contrary to KFOR’s mandateand became the subject of clashesperiodically since. Specificallyalong route”BULL“the roadblockat south Rudare permanently hamperedaccess to northern Kosovorequiring KFOR to resupply CampNothing Hill and GATE 1 by helicopter.In late September the roadblockwas reinforced with concrete,railroad iron, gravel and concreteblocks. A previous opportunisticattempt in November by KFOR’sTactical Manoeuvre ( KTM) Forceproved in vain when the KTM perimeterwas pushed back by threelarge trucks , 21 KTM soldierswere injured by thrown rocks andthe reversing gravel-laden trucks.Later that month near Zupce, westof Cabra, KFOR’s OperationalReserve Force (ORF) successfullysecured the removal of a significantroadblock at Jagnjencia, theseizing of which gave access to analternate route potentially allowingmovement to northern Kosovo.30 KFOR soldiers were woundedin a violent reaction to the seizureof this roadblock, two receivinggunshot wounds, fortunately notlife threating. Subsequent politicaldiscussions at a high levelresulted in most of the remainingroadblocks being removed. Rudarewas amongst those that remainedin place. A planned KFOR effortto remove the Rudare roadblockwas executed to good effect on thefirst of June when a cordon wasrapidly put into effect to secure thearea surrounding the roadblock.Surprise and swiftness playedtheir part as reinforcements werequickly helicoptered in, othersmoving rapidly by road to consolidatethese key position and allowedthe KFOR engineers to commencetheir dismantling works. Two anda half kilometres away and hourslater a clash occurred at the IronBridge in the vicinity of Zvecanwhen protestors reacted by throwingstones. KFOR replied by firingrubber bullets and the use of nonle-PICTURE: J. WAGNERPICTURE: J. WAGNERSTORY: D. HARVEY- KFOR Chronicle 06/2012 -

TOGETHER AS ONEthal gas. Shots were fired at KFORsoldiers with murderous intent onat least three separate occasions.The incoming fire impacted immediatelynear the KFOR soldiers, onand into KFOR vehicles, even onthe helmets of the KFOR soldiers.Two KFOR soldiers were wounded.Acting in self-defence KFORreturned fire. Items of evidentialvalue highlighting the in-comingbullet impacts and so the evidentwill to kill KFOR soldiers, weresubsequently presented to themedia some days later by KFOR toconvincingly counter misinformation.Freedom of Movement wasachieved. The Rudare roadblockwas removedPICTURE: H. PREUPICTURE: H. PREU- KFOR Chronicle 06/2012 - 6 7

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UNFIXING OF DEVIC MONASTERYPICTURE: MNBG-EPICTURE: MNBG-EAfter the GazimestanMonastery (28 March 2010)and the Gracania Monastry (23August 2010) were unfixed,the Monasteries in Zociste (03November 2010), Budisavci(22 November 2010), Goric (15December 2010) and ArchangelMonastery (10 May 2011) havealso been handed over to theKosovo Police successfully. On01 June 2012 this was followed bythe completed unfixing of DevicMonastery. Thus, the transfer ofguarding tasks of seven out of nineReligious and Cultural HeritageSites have been successfullycompleted by June 2012. TheKosovo Police has been a reliableand very successful partnerthroughout the unfixing processand the period during which it tookresponsible for the site.It is noteworthy that it was KFORsoldiers from the Moroccancontingent, an Islamic countryin the north of Africa, who werethe last to offer round the clockprotection to Devic Monasteryuntil April last. Praised by MotherAnastasia on their departure fortheir professionalism, it was aproud occasion tinged with sadnessat the ending of this very happyassociation.Visoki Decani Monastery andthe Peja/Pec Patriarchate are thetwo remaining properties withDesignated Special Status (Pr DSS)remaining to be unfixed.STORY: I. OUANINECH- KFOR Chronicle 06/2012 -

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DOG 16PICTURE: A. ALAGNA PICTURE: V. Di CANIO- KFOR Chronicle 03/2012 - 18 19

BRNJAK BYPASS BLOCKEDPICTURE: V. Di CANIOPICTURE: T. PILAWSKI- KFOR Chronicle 06/2012 -

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Commander KFORMajor General Erhard Drews,German ArmyChief Public Affairs Office &KFOR SpokesmanLieutenant Colonel Uwe Nowitzki,German ArmyChief Internal Information &Editor KFOR ChronicleLieutenant Colonel Dan Harvey,Irish Defence Forcesharveyd@hq.kfor.nato.intPhotographer & DesignMr. Afrim HajrullahuStaff Sergeant Tim Pilawski,German Armypilawskit@hq.kfor.nato.intCover PhotoSFC. James WagnerE-mail and Webkforchronicle@hq.kfor.nato.intwww.nato.int/kforPrinted by RASTERTel.: 038 601 606NATO Nations within KFORAlbania, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia,Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,France, Germany, Greece, Hungary,Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands,Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania,Slovenia, Turkey, United Kingdom,United StatesVISIT OF NATO MILITATY COMMITTEEAND SACEURJune was an eventful month operationally for KFOR but also fornotable military visitors to KFOR HQ, none more so than those ofThe NATO Military Committee and of SACEUR. The NATO MilitaryCommittee (MC) is the Senior military authority in NATO. It is theprimary source of military advice to NATO’s civilian decision-makingbodies, the North Atlantic Council (NAC) and the Nuclear PlanningGroup. The MCs advice is sought prior to any authorization for militaryaction and, consequently represents an essential link between thepolitical decision-making process and the military structure of NATO.The MC is made up of senior military officers (usually three-starGenerals) from NATO member countries who serve as their country’sMilitary Representatives (MILREPs) to NATO. Their visit to KFORwas inclusive of briefings, discussions and field trips to 4 differentlocations relevant to presenting an update of the situation in Kosovo.The chairman of the MC Lt Gen Knud Bartels and COMKFOR MajGen Erhard Drews gave a press conference to some 30 local mediarepresentatives. Later in the month Admiral James Stavridis, NATO’sSupreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), journeyed to “FilmCity” and received a strategic overview briefing in KFOR HQ.PICTURE: A. HAJRULLAHUNon-NATO Nations withinKFORAustria, Finland, Ireland, Marocco,Sweden, Switzerland, UkraineThe KFOR Chronicle is produced and fullyfunded by HQ KFOR. It is published forKFOR soldiers in the area of responsibility.The contents are not necessarily the officialviews of, or endorsed by, the coalition governments’defence departments. Editorial contentis edited, prepared and provided by the InternalInformation Section of HQ KFOR’s PublicAffairs Office (PAO) in Pristina, Kosovo. PAOHQ KFOR reserves the right to edit contentto conform to style and space requirements.Articles run on a space-available basis.STORY: D. HARVEY- KFOR Chronicle 06/2012 -PICTURE: T. PILAWSKI

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED-TWICE!ORF-2May 2012 was an importantmonth in the region witnessingthe successful smoothly runOSCE-facilitated Serbian Electionsin Kosovo. But May had also aconnected but separate significancefor KFOR. For the first time inKFOR history two (2) OperationalReserve Forces (ORF) were on theground in Kosovo at the same time,one Italian (ORF 1), the other amixed German/ Austrian (ORF 2).For the German/ Austrian (ORF2)members it had a particular noteworthinessall of its own to them,being the first time the same ORFwas activated and deployed twiceto Kosovo. Having only recentlydeparted Kosovo in early Aprilthey were to return later the samemonth at short notice to once againtake up active operational duties.The period preceding the SerbianElections in Kosovo had been oneof tension and increased volatility,with a rising potential for widespreaddemonstrations and possibleinter-ethnic violence. Following hisassessment as to how best to maintaina safe and secure environmentduring the Serbian Election Periodin Kosovo, COMKFOR MajorGeneral Erhard Drews decided itappropriate and prudent to seekthe deployment of a second ORF,in this case, the redeployment ofthose recently departed. KFOR’sfully deployed deterrent presencein a state of readiness to reactproved an effective contributionto the overall effort in conjunctionwith the Kosovo Police and EU-LEX thereby ensuring the electionspassed off peacefully. ORF2 along with KFOR’s entire forceplayed their part in accomplishingthe mission. An appreciative COM-KFOR acknowledged their contributionas the occasion of theirsecond departure from Kosovo.STORY AND PICTURE: T. PILAWSKI- KFOR Chronicle 06/2012 - 22 23

- KFOR Chronicle 06/2012 -PICTURE: A. HAJRULLAHU