Army unit deployed to Kosovo from Ulster base

Local & National

Soldiers training at Ballykinlar

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

By Chris Thornton

A British Army unit is being shipped out of Northern Ireland to keep a lid on sectarian strife in a global trouble spot.

The Ministry of Defence announced today that the 2nd battalion of The Rifles will be sent to Kosovo from their new base at Ballykinlar, Co Down.

The deployment is expected to begin next month.

It underlines the Army's new role as a garrison force in Northern Ireland.

Troops officially ended operational duties last July after nearly 40 years battling the IRA.

The end of Operation Banner, as the mission was known, meant that remaining Army bases in Northern Ireland could be converted to ordinary garrison duties - housing Army units that are training in between deployments on operations.

Six hundred members of 2 Rifles will be sent to Pristina as part of a UN-led force next month.

Lieutenant Colonel Rob Thomson, the commanding officer of the battalion,said: "The rifleman of 2 Rifles are looking forward to another operational deployment to yet another different part of the world.

"We have an important role to play in assisting the people of Kosovo in their attempts at establishing a stable and peaceful government and society.

"This is an historic moment as this will be the first time since the end of Operation Banner that a Northern Ireland based contingency force will have been deployed from the province."

Concerns about unrest between ethnic Albanians and the minority Serb population in Kosovo have increased since the region declared its independence from Serbia in February.

The Rifles are meant to keep the peace during the UN's "supervised independence" programme, which culminates on June 15 with the introduction of a new constitution for Kosovo.

The unit is due to remain in the former Yugoslav region for 30 days but the tour could be extended if violence breaks out between the Serbs and ethnic Albanians, who make up the majority in Kosovo and have welcomed independence.