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EU likely to send more police to Kosovo

BRUSSELS: EU foreign ministers are expected to send more police to Kosovo in response to an urgent appeal from security policy chief Javier Solana, EU sources said on Monday.

They said Solana spoke to the KFOR peacekeeping commander, General Klaus Reinhardt, and United Nations mission chief Bernard Kouchner during a weekend of violence between Serbs and ethnic Albanians in the divided city of Kosovska Mitrovica.

Mitrovica was placed under curfew on Sunday after an outbreak of shooting which killed two people and wounded 15, including two French peacekeeping soldiers.

Spain, Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Germany -- the largest EU contributors of police to the de facto protectorate -- will add about 400 officers to the contingents already on the spot, fulfilling or increasing earlier pledges.

Solana first appealed for reinforcements to the "dramatically understaffed" civil police mission 10 days ago. EU foreign ministers recognised the need for urgent reinforcements at their last regular Brussels conference on January 24.

Of a total of 4,718 police officers requested by the United Nations, only 2,055 are currently on the spot including 569 of the 929 already pledged by the EU. In addition, Spain and Italy are providing a total of 330 men in special police units.

Solana is expected to repeat that the EU's police contribution to the peacekeeping effort -- about 28 percent of the current total or 12 percent of requirements -- is in stark contrast to the EU troop contribution to KFOR, which is about 70 percent, and to Kosovo's reconstruction.

KFOR has already reinfored the main French contingent in Mitrovica with company-sized units from half a dozen other European forces serving in the province.-Reuters