The commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the "Alba" mission in Albania, which began on April 13, 1997 and ended on August 12 of the same year, was held today in the Central Military Library of Palazzo Esercito, during which the Army contributed to the establishment of the Projection Multinational Force (FMP), an Italian leader, siding and operating between Tirana, Durazzo, Valona and Fier.
Present at the ceremony was the Chief of Staff of the Army, Corps General Danilo Errico, who in May 1997, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, was in command of the 7th "Vega" regiment, one of the departments that made up the contingent "Alba".
The leaders of the armed forces, the commanders of the units constituting the Italian contingent in Albania, the officers in service to the General Staff, and distinguished guests were present.
General Errico, during his speech, recalled how "in this complex and delicate context, Italy provided the most consistent contribution to the mission, led by General Forlani, both in numerical terms - with a contingent formed by about 3.000 men - as from the capacitive point of view with full responsibility for the command and control, conduct of operations, logistics, transport, land and air, supplies and communications".
The "Alba" mission approved by the UN in April of the 1997 and was the first form of multinational intervention (with France, Turkey, Greece, Spain, Romania, Austria and Denmark) promoted and led by Italy.
The Army, deployed between Tirana, Durres, Valona and Fier, contributed with the mechanized "Friuli" brigade, the 18th bersaglieri regiment of the "Garibaldi" brigade (the current 1st Bersaglieri regiment of Cosenza), the 187th parachute regiment of the "Folgore" and the 151 ° infantry regiment of the "Sassari", flanked by the raiders of the "Col Moschin" and the specialists of the AVES, genius, health and broadcasting.
The presence of the military made it possible to cool down the Albanian situation, which degenerated at the beginning of the 1997 mainly due to the bankruptcy of investment companies that had in fact burned the savings of many citizens. With approximately 1.700 operational activities, the FMP has allowed humanitarian organizations to distribute to the population over 5.700 tons of food, medicines, seeds and clothing and to guarantee the safety to OSCE observers during the Albanian elections of 29 June and 6 July 1997.
