French troops to withdraw from Kosovo?

Source: RTS

BELGRADE -- French President Francois Hollande has decided that some 300 French soldiers will leave northern Kosovo in the first half of 2014, reports RTS.

(Tanjug, file)

The French troops, deployed as part of NATO's KFOR mission, are mainly stationed in Kosovska Mitrovica.
Hollande has decided to withdraw the troops from Kosovo "because of the increasing problems in Africa," write the German media, citing an internal document that was forwarded from Paris to other NATO members.

The decision means that the 300 French soldiers stationed in the north will leave, but 11 officers will remain at KFOR HQ, along with 39 police officers who are part of the EULEX mission.

The French withdrawal from Kosovo came after a series of problems that France faced in Mali, the Ivory Coast, and the Central African Republic.

In a message to other members of NATO, France's decision was reportedly explained with the words that there was "no longer a military threat" in Kosovo, and that the overall security situation allowed for the troops to leave.