Kosovo police to patrol border with Albania

KFOR commander Markus Bentler says international peacekeeping forces would cede control over the Albanian border to the Kosovo police, KPS, late in April.

After meeting with U.S. Adm. Mark Fitzgerald, chief of NATO's Joint Forces Command Naples, Bentler said KFOR would continue to transfer responsibilities to the Kosovo police as part of the withdrawal of KFOR from the border area.

Bentler said this would be performed soon with the border zone toward Albania, and added that KFOR believed the Kosovo police to be increasingly prepared, professional and efficient.

He went on to say that the full transfer of authority would take place on April 28.

The KFOR commander stated that the transfer of border control competency to the Kosovo police would continue in other areas, but that there were no deadlines and that each country would be considered as a separate case. He did not comment on the possibility for the Kosovo police to soon take control over the administrative line with Serbia proper.

We are cooperating with Serbia on preserving security in that area of the border zone, Bentler said.

Adm. Fitzgerald stated that the transfer of authority to Kosovo institutions was an indication of progress in Kosovo. “We do not want to wait until the last moment to transfer the competencies, but to do it while KFOR still has a strong presence, so that we can supervise, assist and advise,” he said.

Fitzgerald arrived in Kosovo on April 19. A visit by members of the NATO Military Committee, scheduled for the same day, was canceled due to air traffic problems.