What is KFOR?

Hi! With this post, we are launching our “What is…” category, which refers to definitions. So, what is KFOR?

Kosovo Force (KFOR) is an international military peacekeeping mission which is led by NATO and was enforced in June 1999 under the UN Security Council Resolution 1244, following the NATO-led international military intervention in the conflict that had erupted in the area.

KFOR functions under the NATO Allied Joint Force Command Naples.

Historical Overview

Kosovo has been a territory claimed both by the Serbians and the Albanians, as both nations consider it fundamental to their national identities.

In alignment with the secession trend of the former Yugoslavian republics, separatism also began to be endorsed by the Albanian population in Kosovo in the early 1990s.

Under Josip Tito’s rule, Kosovo, as a province of Serbia, was one of the Yugoslavian republics which enjoyed increased autonomy and a de facto veto right in the Serbian parliament.

Shortly after Tito’s death (1980), the the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo orchestrated a number of public protests about prolonged discrimination against them. On top of this, Kosovo was amongst the poorest districts of Serbia, with the lilliputian spoils being saved for the Serbians, who were the minority in the area. In 1989, as a result of the nationalist Albanian riots, the autonomy of Kosovo was revoked and the unofficial elections of 1992 and 1998, both won by Ibrahim Rugova, were not recognised by the central government of Serbia. Actually, the elections of 1998 led to the Serb police intervening and dissolving the Albanian parliament during Rugova’s inauguration as “President”.

Rugova was a powerful person in Kosovo, as its Albanian majority had begun to organise themselves under his leadership in pursuit for more influence. His view on the issue of Kosovo was that separatism and defence against ethnic discrimination had to be pursued through peaceful means. Yet, he was increasingly put under pressure by radicals who saw his pacifist approach as passivity. Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) -or UCK as is the famous Albanian acronym- was created in the mostly as a reaction to Rugova’s pacifist attitude. Their demands, which were announced in 1996 were that the Serbian government cease to occupy and colonise Kosovo. Still, their ultimate objective was the realisation of the “Great Albania” ideal, which is the ambition to unify the Albanians of Kosovo, North Macedonia and Albania in one state.

However, Slobodan Milosevic, as president of the Serbian Republic and later as president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, would not give in, endorsing the claim that Kosovo was an “anchestral” Serbian area and its secession would threaten Serbia’s national interests. In this light, the Serbians considered the Albanian resistance a matter of terrorism that put at risk the Yugoslavian integrity.

The issue turned violent in 1996, as KLA/UCK detonated a number of bombs in Serbian refugee camps and attacked a number of Serbian policemen, leading to several deaths. A serious armed conflict with retaliatory acts began, which caused the death toll to rise for both sides.

In retaliation to the 1998 intervention by the Serbian police in the Albanian inauguration (see above), KLA/UCK embarked on armed violence against Serbs. In response, Serb army and police units were deployed to Kosovo, with the mission to contain the KLA/UCK violence. But the Serbian forces also proceeded to ethnic-cleansing programmes.

The growing escalation of this war which had resulted in deaths of civilians provoked international concern and resulted in pressure towards resolution. The Yugoslav violence was condemned by the international community, including the European Union and the United States. In addition, the so-called Contact Group -consisting of delegates from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the Russian Federation- imposed economic sanctions on Yugoslavia, while the United Nations enforced an arms embargo. Meanwhile, direct peace talks were being held with president Milosevic, with NATO signalling more and more that an armed intervention by the coalition was a possibility.

In January 1999, NATO orchestrated direct talks between Yugoslav and Albanian leaders (Rambuillet talks), aiming at the conclusion of a peace plan. In mid-March KLA/UCK agreed to sign a peace deal drafted by the Contact Group. In short, the peace plan predicted the disarmament of KLA/UCK within three months, the withdrawal of most Yugoslavian forces from Kosovo and the installment of a NATO occupation force which would secure the agreement. While KLA/UCK signed the agreement, the Yugoslav government refused, leading to the famous NATO air campaign.

On 24 March 1999, NATO launched a surgical air campaign on Kosovar and Serbian targets in an effort to force Yugoslavia to sign the peace agreement (an example of the strategy of military coercion), but the Yugoslav forces escalated their violent acts in Kosovo. Yet this tactic was short-lived, as the NATO forces were proven to be superior and hostilities ended on 10 June 1999, when Milosevic agreed to submit to NATO’s demand.

In June 1999, following intensive talks which were orchestrated by EU Special Envoy and President of Finland Marti Ahtisaari and by Russian Federation’s Special Envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin, Slobodan Milosevic agreed to satisfy the terms imposed by NATO, which included the installation of a NATO military force in Kosovo and the withdrawal of the Yugoslav troops from the area. In response, KLA/UCK agreed to demilitarise and transform, reaffirming their commitment to end the violence from their part.

Following this settlement, KFOR entered Kosovo on 12 June 1999, under the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and a Military Technical Agreement, according to which the withdrawal of the Serbian troops would occur simultaneously with the settlement of KFOR, to prevent security vacuums in Kosovo.

Under the UNSC Resolution 1244, KFOR’s objectives would be the following:

• (a) Deterring renewed hostilities, maintaining and where necessary enforcing a ceasefire, and ensuring the withdrawal and preventing the return into Kosovo of Federal and Republic military, police and paramilitary forces;
• (b) Demilitarizing the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and other armed Kosovo Albanian groups;
• (c) Establishing a secure environment in which refugees and displaced persons could return home in safety, the international civil presence could operate, a transitional administration ccould be established, and humanitarian aid could be delivered;
• (d) Ensuring public safety and order until the international civil presence could take responsibility for this task;
• (e) Supervising demining until the international civil presence could, as appropriate, take over responsibility for this task;
• (f) Supporting, as appropriate, and coordinating closely with the work of the international civil presence;
• (g) Conducting border monitoring duties as required;
• (h) Ensuring the protection and freedom of movement of itself, the international civil presence, and other international organizations;

On 9 July 1999, KFOR negotiated with the KLA/UCK on the terms of the demilitarisation and tranformation of the latter, and, as a result, the group managed to hand all its weapons to KFOR by the end of that month.

As the main security guarantor in the area, KFOR managed to clean of ammunition and undetonated mines over 16,000 residential houses, 1,165 schools and 2,000km of roads. Furthermore, the KFOR medical installations treated over 43,000 Albanians.

 

Current Mission

KFOR was warmly welcomed as a liberator by all ethnic groups in June 1999 and maintains its reputation as the most reliable and trusted guarantor of peace and stability in the area, despite some criticisms about the way it handled some violent events.

Today, KFOR remains the military force which supports the peacekeeping and development efforts of the United Nations and the European Union. As highlighted on its official website, its mission nowadays is to:

 

1. deter renewed hostility and threats against Kosovo by Yugoslav and Serb forces;
2. establish a secure environment and ensure public safety and order;
3. demilitarize the Kosovo Liberation Army;
4. support the international humanitarian effort; and
5. coordinate with, and support, the international civil presence.

 

One of its initial objectives being to gradually shrink as KLA will be transforming into a professional army, KFOR troops are now reduced to 3,526 and the proportion of each contributing state appears on the following table:

Country	Number of Troops
Albania	29
Armenia	41
Bulgaria	22
Canada	5
Croatia	34
Czech Republic	10
Denmark	35
Finland	20
Germany	100
Greece	111
Hungary	385
Ireland	12
Italy	542
Lithuania	1
Moldova	41
Montenegro	1
Norway	2
Poland	240
Romania	57
Slovenia	242
Sweden	4
Switzerland	190
Turkey	246
Ukraine	40
United Kingdom	23
United States	659

KFOR troops are divided into Multinational Battle Groups, which are characterised by high mobility, rapid deployability and flexibility, in order to move fast towards troubled areas around Kosovo. Currently there are two battle groups:

1. HQ MNBG East, located at Camp Bondsteel, located near Urosevac;
2. HQ MNBG West, located at Camp Villagio Italia in Pec.

Here we are, I think I have covered the topic adequately and without bias… Take care, everyone!

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Sources 

1. Hamiti, Urtak, “NATO in Kosovo – KFOR Mission, Intentions, Successes, Failures”, European Journal of Research in Social Sciences, Vol. 3, No. 6 (2015), pp. 48-52
2. Osmani, Shaip, “KFOR Mission in Kosovo and Its Future”, Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 5, No. 19 (August 2014), pp. 350-354
3. Palmowski, Jan, “Kosovo” , in “Oxford Dictionary of Contemporary World History”, Oxford University Press, 2008, p. 377
4. Unknown, “NATO’s Role in Kosovo”, NATO, 19 November 2019 [Accessed: 4 March 2020]
5. UN Security Council, “Resolution 1244 (1999)”, United Nations, 10 June 1999 [Accessed: 17 March 2020]
6. Uppsala Conflict Data Program, “Serbia (Yugoslavia): Kosovo”, n.d. [Accessed: 4 March 2020]