The COVID-19 emergency did not affect the ability of our Armed Forces to play a deterrent and credible role in helping to maintain a safe environment and freedom of movement for all communities in Kosovo, as established by the mandate of Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council.
The activities of the NATO contingent, with about 3.500 soldiers from 27 nations (500 Italians) and led by Major General Michele Risi, are continuing with regularity, including those aimed at training personnel to remove roadblocks and control the crowd in case of unrest.
In this context, the artillerymen of the 17th "Sforzesca" anti-aircraft regiment of the Italian Army, Regional West Command from KFOR stationed in Peč / Pejë, they conducted an important activity together with Austrian, Slovenian and Swiss colleagues.
In particular, a blockade of road traffic implemented by a group of violent demonstrators was simulated, to remove which operational units of the Regional Command West in riot gear, a circumstance in which in reality KFOR would act as third responders, after the Kosovo police and the EULEX mission of the European Union.
The activity also involved the use of Freedom of Movement Detachment, made up of the men of the 6th Army logistic regiment, who, aboard the pioneer tank "Leopard", physically cleared the field of the carcasses of cars positioned by the demonstrators to implement the blockade.
A team specialized in the disposal of explosive devices made up of Ukrainian and Swiss soldiers also intervened, who verified the absence of exploding traps thanks to the dog unit and the "iRobot 510 PackBot" device.
The objective of these periodic activities is to always maintain a high level of readiness of the KFOR forces, while respecting the anti-contagion measures from COVID-19.
"These are precious opportunities to amalgamate the military and units of the various nations operating in the Regional Command West", said Colonel Natale Gatti, commander of the KFOR unit which operates in the western sector of Kosovo and is responsible, among other things, for the security of the Orthodox monastery of Visoki-Decani.
