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U.S., Russian Troops to Patrol Kosovo Together
By Rudi Williams
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 16, 1999 – U.S. and Russian troops will soon be
conducting combined patrols in the American sector of Kosovo to ease the
fears of ethnic Albanian and Serb civilians and to enhance
communications between the two peacekeeping forces, Army Brig. Gen. John
Craddock said July 13.
"I've talked with the Russian commander of forces in Kosovo ... and
he seemed agreeable," Craddock told Pentagon reporters in a two-way
telephone interview from his Kosovo headquarters. Operational details
will be worked out when the main body of a Russian battalion sets up
camp. Right now, an advance element of about 80 Russian troops is in
place and is expected to swell about 500 in a few days, said Craddock,
commander of U.S. forces in Kosovo.
An agreement between Moscow
and NATO calls for more than 3,000 Russian troops to be stationed in
NATO-designated sectors of Kosovo, but they won't have their own sector.
The Russian presence has sparked some peaceful ethnic Albanian
protests, Craddock noted. "Obviously, there's concern there with the
perceived relationship between the Russians and the Serbs," the general
said. "We're watching that carefully, but I'm not worried about that
situation at this time."
Craddock said a U.S. liaison element
with the advanced Russian force will remain with the Russian battalion.
"We're pretty much using the Bosnia model in terms of how we will
communicate, liaison and operate," he said. "There will be
representatives from the Russian element at my headquarters, but not on
my staff."
The total force in the U.S. sector is about 6,500
troops, which will stabilize at about 7,000. This includes a 750-man
Polish airborne infantry battalion and a 550-man Greek mechanized
infantry battalion.
Emphasizing the peacekeepers protect
everybody, Craddock said Serbs and Albanians receive equal protection.
"We're here to provide a safe and secure environment and we don't
discriminate. Everybody has a right to live ... without being endangered
[by] others," he said.
He said the Serbs are "reticent and
concerned" about their safety, and Serb enclaves are more withdrawn than
Albanian ones. "When you move through a Serb town or village, they
don't come out and welcome you like the Albanians do," Craddock said.
"They're not as friendly."
Lawlessness is down, "but still not to
the point we want it," Craddock noted. He has set up military police
stations throughout the sector to respond to cries for help from Serbs
and Albanians alike. He's also clamping down on instances of house
burning and random shootings.
"If a Serb family calls and needs
help, we're there," he said. "If a Serb wants protection for movement
from one place to another, we'll do what we have to escort them."
American peacekeepers "are on the beat, on the street day and night,
trying to keep the peace," Craddock said. "We're not holed up in the
precinct house or in the base camp. Our guys are out there doing their
jobs and doing them well. That's when we draw fire."
A nine-day
lull in attacks on U.S. troops ended in early July, Craddock said. He
said the gunfire didn't seem to be part of a coordinated effort.
The international community is providing law enforcement help. So far,
there's a U.N. police commissioner from Denmark and a Canadian police
liaison. The 37 international policemen on duty in Kosovo on July 12
will ultimately grow to a force of up to 4,000. This force will
deactivate when local forces are in place, he said.
The general
said local police forces, called the Kosovo Police System, is being
formed. The U.N. police commissioner will interview candidates for a
six-week police academy scheduled to start in August with about 160
students, he noted. Subsequent classes will have as many as 500
students, and all must attend subsequent weekly training classes for a
year.
The United States is also providing emergency medical and
dental services for Serbs and Albanians in the area. Combat engineers,
besides building the U.S. base camps, are supporting civic
reconstruction on an emergency basis. And peacekeepers are providing
assistance or work crews to help clean up some of the towns, Craddock
said.
He said a U.N.-organized magistrate system of nine local
judges and magistrates move through brigade areas to review cases,
document evidence and confirm or deny the case. "We have 22 people in
detention and four being detained in hospitals based upon injuries or
wounds," he noted.
Most communities now have their water turned
on at least 12 hours per day, the general noted. Brown-outs are normal;
no one has full electrical power yet, he said, adding there are spot
shortfalls of fuel for buses.
The number of U.S. casualties is
well below his expectations. "I was most concerned about land mines and
unexploded ordnance," Craddock said. "I think we've done a credible job
in mine awareness training and our soldiers are aware of that and are
very careful."
He said situational awareness is the key and the soldiers are wary, alert and vigilant.
"We operate in a wingman concept. Never a single vehicle out there.
There are at least two vehicles with two people in each vehicle
everywhere soldiers go," Craddock said. "When soldiers patrol towns, we
operate in squad-sized elements. There is never a soldier by himself,
out of sight or out of earshot of another soldier. I think that goes a
long ways with force protection."
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