A KSF team is in Gaza, to get to know the area where the contingent from Kosovo will land. The Minister of Defense, Ejup Maqedonci, told TIME that for the first time the KSF is engaging in an international peace support mission in an area of high sensitivity. He also showed the commitment that the contingent from Kosovo will have. Report: Rezon Gashi
The Security Force team has arrived in Gaza, on the first trip in an international peacekeeping mission. It will operate within the peacekeeping mission of the International Stabilization Forces in Gaza.
The KSF announced that its commander, Lieutenant General Bashkim Jashari, has sent a team to this Palestinian territory, to get to know the area where the contingent from Kosovo will land.
“During this visit, the delegation held a series of meetings and discussions with national authorities for the administration of Gaza and relevant teams, as well as with representatives of the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC), which operates under the supervision of the Peace Board, in accordance with UN Resolution 2803. During these meetings, the integration process of the KSF contingent, the development of joint operations, such as and coordination of logistic support”, it is stated in the announcement of the KSF.
E, the Minister of Defense, Ejup Maqedonci, said in an answer to TIME that this moment is a very important step for the KSF and for Kosovo in general.
“For the first time, the KSF is engaging in an international peace support mission in an area of high sensitivity and in a mission mandated by the UN Security Council, which proves the level of professionalism, operational readiness and reliability that our Army has achieved, as well as our state institutions in general”, said Maqedonci.
Minister Macedonci said that the time when the full deployment of the KSF mission will take place and the area where it will be located will be known after the team’s return to Kosovo.
He has shown the activities in which the KSF will engage.
“The Kosovo Security Force will land in Gaza with combined capacities, which include demining and elimination of unexploded ordnance, special operations, medical team and planning officers. The detailed tasks will be determined in the following period, but in general they will be tasks of a humanitarian nature, tasks of security and support of civilians and general recovery of the situation there, said Maqedonci.
And, the security expert, Nuredin Ibishi, told TIME that the KSF has sufficient professional capacities for the mission in Gaza.
“The KSF has always been under the monitoring and support of NATO, meeting international standards… I think it has developed stable professional and especially specialized capacities for demining and unexploded means, search and rescue, but not only these. In terms of combat operational aspects, it is in the transition phase”, said Ibishi.
The participation of the KSF within the peacekeeping mission of the International Stabilization Forces in Gaza was authorized this month by the acting president, Albulena Haxhiu, after the Assembly previously approved the Government’s decision for this mission.
