Kosovo-Albanian Mayor observes exercise in Serb enclave

At the military level, this multinational cooperation was characterized by the integration of a company of Turkish marines. The task of the fellow Turkish soldiers consisted in taking over the protection of Velika Hoca/Hoce e Madhe.

Executive cooperation occurred in very close and very good coordination with the Kosovo Police Service (KPS). As can be seen in the pictures, the policemen from the KPS were deployed in front of the soldiers of Maneuver Battalion “Dulje” during the exercise, which is to be seen as a very good sign for the good cooperation between them and KFOR.

KFOR supports the KPS and, when needed, assumes responsibility, but as a fundamental rule, the members of the Kosovo police have the primary responsibility and are thus in the leading echelon.

Maneuver Battalion “Dulje” was the primary mover behind this exercise - from prior notification of the population, including a radio interview of the battalion's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Volkmar Ertl, about the organization of attending PsyOps activities up to the operational conduct of the exercise with all participating elements and continual coordination with the Multinational Task Force South.

Numerous civilian representatives were present at the exercise. In addition to UNMIK and OSCE representatives, a historic visitor highlight was the Kosovo-Albanian Mayor of Orahovac/Rahovec. For the first time in over a decade, Mr. Qazim Qeska was in the Serb quarter of Orahovac/Rahovec and had talks with representatives of the Serb minority.

Consequently, in terms of its significance, exercise "Xerxes II" was not purely a rehearsal of Crowd Riot Control but succeeded, thanks to the good preparation and interaction of all persons concerned, in making a positive contribution to bringing the two ethnic groups closer together.

(Story and photos by OR-7 Helmut Vogl – Austrian Army)