The EU force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR) is constantly monitoring developments in the country in close coordination with local security services and is aware of security issues, EUFOR told Radio Free Europe today.
“EUFOR is monitoring the situation throughout the country and is ready to act within the framework of its mandate entrusted to it by the UN Security Council“, the international forces said, when asked about their readiness to respond to the destabilizing statements by officials from Republika Srpska in connection with the upcoming sentencing of Milorad Dodik, president of the semi-autonomous part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, populated mainly by Bosnian Serbs, BTA specified.
The court of Bosnia and Herzegovina will pronounce the first-instance verdict against Dodik and the second defendant, the acting director of the state-owned newspaper of Republika Srpska, Miloš Lukić, on 26 February. They are accused of disregarding the decisions of the High Representative of the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt.
When asked whether EUFOR forces were ready to respond in the event of a more serious security breach and in the event that local police and military forces were unable to respond, they stated that “EUFOR structures are constantly and carefully calibrated to meet growing security needs.“
Over a thousand soldiers from the EU, Switzerland, Turkey and Chile have been keeping peace and security in Bosnia and Herzegovina for two decades. EUFOR has a mandate to use force if the 16 local police agencies and about 8,000 local soldiers cannot maintain a stable environment, Radio Free Europe notes.
The military mission "EUFOR - Althea" was established in Bosnia on December 1, 2004, to take over the mandate of the NATO mission, which had been established since the end of the Bosnian war (1992-1995). The mission's mandate is approved annually by the UN.
On November 1 last year, the UN Security Council unanimously extended the mandate of the EU military force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR Althea) until November 2025.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and along with the desire to separate the pro-Russian authorities in Republika Srpska, EUFOR doubled the number of soldiers to over 1,500, including helicopter and tank units, Radio Free Europe notes.