May 13, 2015

Kosova: EU Helicopter Crashes during EULEX Mission


 

Yesterday, May 12 2015, during the European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) in Kosovo, an EU mission helicopter crashed in Pristina International Airport, leaving one crew member injured. The mission was established in 2008, the year Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, with the purpose of peacekeeping in the newly established country. 

 

Below is an article published by PressTV:

Valentina Gara, an airport spokeswoman, said the EU mission chopper crashed during a training flight. The injured person has been taken to hospital for treatment and the airport has been temporarily closed.

Gara added that the airport would reopen to flights later in the day.

Long-term ethnic tensions between Kosovo’s Serb and Albanian populations resulted in it going under UN administration in 1999.

In 2008, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia and an EU mission officially took over the policing of the disputed territory from the UN. The first of a 1,900-strong force, known as the European Union Rule of Law Mission, began deployment in the territory in the same year.

The mission took over responsibilities from the UN mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), while the 16,000-strong NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) peace-keeping forces remained in place.

Kosovo has so far received international recognition from 110 countries. Despite Serbia’s refusal to recognize the independence of Kosovo, in April 2013, Kosovo and Serbia signed an accord to normalize relations, and thereby allow both nations to eventually join the EU.

 

Photo Courtesy of AP/PressTV