The UK is extending the deployment for another year of around 30 UK troops, including reservists, to NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR).

The reservists will bring specialist surveillance and intelligence skills to enhance KFOR’s capability and will be working with NATO allies to promote safety, security and stability in the region.

The Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

British Army reservists are top-class and this demonstrates the crucial role they play in protecting the UK’s interests.

Our troops will work with key NATO allies, providing the expertise needed to maintain stability in the Kosovo region and Europe as a whole.

KFOR began as a peacekeeping force in the late 1990s. It has now evolved into a flexible body of around 4,200 troops, providing security in Kosovo and allowing freedom of movement for all people in the country. Troops are contributed by around 30 nations in addition to the UK, including Germany, Italy, Turkey, Poland and the US.

The announcement comes after Minister for the Armed Forces Mark Lancaster’s visit to the region in November last year and boosts the UK’s long-term presence in the region, which includes defence training assistance and capacity-building of the Kosovo Security Force.