site.btaRomania to Further Deploy Some 100 Troops to Bolster KFOR

Romania said that it will send some 100 troops to bolster the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo, KFOR, following mounting tensions with Serbia, Radio Free Europe said on Tuesday.

Romania's Ambassador to NATO said that Bucharest would add a contingent at company level to the KFOR peacekeepers after a decision by the Alliance to bolster the deployment. This statement was confirmed by a letter from Romania’s Defence Ministry, quoted by Agerpress.

So far, Romania has sent some 330 troops on missions in the Western Balkans. Some 250 of them are deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina and about 80 in Kosovo.

Last week, the UK announced that it would deploy some 600 troops to reinforce KFOR, Radio Free Europe’s Romanian service recalls.

These moves came after an armed attack on September 24 that killed a Kosovar police officer and three armed Serbians. Kosovo's government has accused Belgrade of backing the operation.