20000226

First Eurocorps

troops scheduled

in Kosovo

next month

STRASBOURG: A first contingent of troops from Eurocorps, the pan-European defence force, will leave for Kosovo on March 5 to prepare to take command of Nato's peacekeeping duties, the force announced on Thursday.

Eighty soldiers will be sent to make arrangements for the eventual arrival of 350 Eurocorps troops from Germany, France, Spain and Belgium. The fifth member of Eurocorps, Luxembourg, will not take part in the Kosovo mission.

Following an agreement struck in January by ambassadors from Nato's 19 member states, Eurocorps will assume command of the Kosovo peacekeeping force (KFOR) for six months from April 15.

The first contingent of troops will probably be flown out to the Macedonian capital Skopje before transferring by road to Pristina, Eric Tripnaux of the Eurocorps press service said.

Eurocorps' commander, General Juan Ortuno, will leave for Kosovo April, he added.

A military ceremony will be held February 29 at the unit's Strasbourg headquarters to mark the end of three months of training for the assignment.

Commanding KFOR's 44,000 troops from 26 nations will give Eurocorps hands-on experience in the field operations of a large military force in one of Europe's toughest areas, and is seen as major boost to EU efforts to build its own defence capability.

Eurocorps is mooted as the nucleus of a 60,000-strong European rapid reaction force, which EU leaders approved at their December summit in Helsinki as a means of easing their dependence on US-dominated Nato.ÑAFP