Irish troops in Kosovo safe, insists Army

The families of 120 Irish soldiers on UN duties with KFOR have been told there is no immediate cause for concern about the safety…

The families of 120 Irish soldiers on UN duties with KFOR have been told there is no immediate cause for concern about the safety of their loved ones.

Ten Irish soldiers of around 120 currently serving in Kosovo suffered minor injuries during peacekeeping duties yesterday.

The injuries were mainly cuts and bruises, and none required hospital treatment, a spokesman for the Defence Forces said.

Sixty-one police officers, including 40 members of the UN special police unit, have so far been injured during the clashes. Lieutenant Colonel Jim Moran, spokesman for the NATO-led peacekeepers, said 17 peacekeepers were injured.

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The Irish troops and their colleagues, who had been on duty for around 24-hours, have now withdrawn to their base, but are on 30 minutes' "notice to move", a spokesman said.

The clashes began when a large group of Albanians gathered in Mitrovica to vent their anger at the drowning of three boys earlier this week. It was claimed they were chased into a river by Serbs after a teenager was wounded in a drive-by shooting.

Although Mitrovica was the scene of the worst violence, there were also clashes in Caglavica, where Irish troops were involved in trying to stop a protest by thousands of Albanians advancing on the Serb village.

One Irish platoon (around 30 soldiers) is serving with the Swedish-led task force operating in that area, while two Irish platoons are serving with an Irish-led force, along with a Finnish platoon.

Irish troops were also involved early this morning in the evacuation of around 90 Serbs and members of international NGOs from enclaves within Pristina.