Feb. 20 – The international NATO K -For mission, currently led by Italy, is preparing for one of the most sensitive tests in recent times in Kosovo: the municipal elections in North Mitrovica, the Serbian-majority center of northern Kosovo. The area votes this Sunday for the third time in three months for the election of the mayor. According to Major General Salvatore Farina, who leads the mission, the situation in Kosovo “is still fragile in the North; and these elections are a crucial step: if the dialogue continues, we believe we can look forward to a different future.” For this reason, the elections in North Mitrovica, along with those in Serbia next March, are crucial. The obstacles on the Ibar bridge in Mitrovica do not allow vehicles to transit from one area to the other, turning the city into a Berlin of the 1980s. “I hope this is the last election in a while, and that everything will run smoothly: EULEX will support the KP, now reinforced with Serbian policemen who know the area and the local population’s needs, as opposed to happened in November.” At the moment, according to the K -for “there are no indications of risks or threats, but anything could happen and until Sunday at 10pm we will remain alert. We are ready to intervene in case of an alarm with our platoons. I told my men not to consider it as a routine operation.” Farina confirmed that since last June, “Italy returned to lead the K -For mission. Our numbers are down by ten times what we were at the beginning of the mission, but the citizens are safer today than they used to be back then: this latest effort represents the continuity of our presence in the area.”
The Italian K-For ensures municipal elections
