Türkiye to send additional troops to Kosovo at NATO's request

Türkiye has announced that it will deploy additional forces to Kosovo at the request of NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command Naples in response to recent tensions in the Balkan country.

“A commando battalion affiliated to our 65th Mechanised Infantry Brigade Command, which was previously assigned to the NATO Kosovo Force, was assigned as a reserve force,” the Turkish National Defence Ministry said in a written statement on Saturday.

Preparations have started for transferring the unit to the Sultan Murat Barracks in the southern city of Prizren, where Turkish soldiers are stationed, by Sunday or Monday according to the ministry.

Ankara “closely” follows developments in the Balkan region, with which it shares common historical and cultural values, the statement said.

"Türkiye has been taking a constructive stance and calling for restraint on the parties to resolve the recent conflicts in the north of brotherly Kosovo, which harm regional security and stability, through dialogue," it added.

NATO-led peacekeeping

Türkiye continues to contribute to regional and global peace and stability as part of its missions under the United Nations, NATO, European Union, and the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OSCE) as well as its bilateral relations, the statement said.

Tensions have gripped Kosovo as ethnic Serbs – the country’s second-largest ethnic group – have been protesting the election of ethnic Albanian mayors in four northern municipalities last month.

On Monday, at least 30 soldiers of the NATO-led international peacekeeping mission in Kosovo (KFOR) were injured in clashes with Serbs who were protesting and attempting to prevent the newly elected mayor of Zvecan in northern Kosovo from entering the town hall to take the oath of office and begin his official responsibilities.