On Friday, the commander of KFOR, Major General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, authorized a team of divers from the Kosovo Security Forces to start the search by adhering to a request from the Kosovar interior ministry.
The delicacy of the situation lies in the fact that the research area is located within the municipality of Mitrovica Nord, a Serbian majority, where the Kosovar Security Forces do not normally access in order not to feed inter-ethnic tensions and where they can operate only with the authorization of the commander of KFOR.
To maintain a situation of calm and security, KFOR organized a meeting attended by the mayors of North and South Mitrovica and the police representatives of the two municipalities. The meeting served to share the operational methods, the objectives of the research and to exchange information. At the end of the meeting, the representatives of the two municipalities issued relaxing statements to the numerous media present.
KFOR is the NATO Multinational Force in Kosovo. Since September 2014, the command has been entrusted to Major General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, under his orders there are about 5000 men and women from 31 countries. KFOR's task is to maintain a safe environment, guarantee freedom of movement and prevent the use of violence. In this way it contributes to the consolidation of peace and stability in the region, to the process of civil growth, to the development of local institutions.
Source: KFOR PAO, ltc. Andrea Martellotti
