The Minister of Defense, Ejup Macedonci, has said that the contingent of the Security Force (FSK) that will land in Gaza will focus on several activities, including demining and special operations.
In a statement for TIME, on the day when 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, Minister Macedonia said 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 mission of peace support 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 achieved by our Army, but also by our state institutions in general”, Macedonci said on Sunday. “This is a moment that confirms that the Republic of Kosovo is not only a beneficiary of security, but also an active contributor to international peace and stability, in full coordination with our strategic partners.”
He emphasized 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.
“The KSF team that has arrived in Gaza is conducting what is known in defense terminology as PDSS (Pre-Deployment Site Survey) which means knowing the area where the KSF contingent will land and operate, coordinating with our partners on logistical and technical aspects as well as other aspects of pre-coordination. The time of the full landing and the exact location of the landing will be known after the return of our team and receiving additional information”, said the Minister of Defense.
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 defined in the following period, but in general they will be tasks of a humanitarian nature, tasks of security and support of civilians and the general recovery of the situation there”, Minister Maqedonci said.
The KSF team has arrived in Gaza, on the first trip in an international peace mission. It will operate within the peacekeeping mission of the International Stabilization Forces in Gaza.
The participation of the KSF within this mission was authorized this month by the acting president, Albulena Haxhiu, after the Assembly previously approved the Government’s decision for this mission.
