NATO, EU Bolster Kosovo Contingents Ahead Of Tense February Election

NATO and the European Union are beefing up their resources in Kosovo amid rising tension in the Balkan nation ahead of February 9 parliamentary elections.

The Western military alliance said it has sent 200 additional Italian soldiers to bolster the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping mission, which has been in the country since 1999 and now has some 4,000 troops, down from a peak of 50,000.

"Today, Italian troops from KFOR's reserves completed their arrival...reinforcing KFOR's presence in Kosovo," a statement said. The "Italian mechanized infantry brigade 'Sassari,' will carry out a range of activities, together with KFOR troops."

It said the force "will be deployed in response to any relevant developments in the security situation including during the election period."

Separately, the EU said an election observation mission has been established to oversee the parliamentary vote.

Nathalie Loiseau, a French member of the European Parliament who has been named mission leader, said a team of 100 observers will monitor the elections, underlining "continuous EU support for Kosovo to further strengthen its democratic governance."

The election is seen by many as a test of strength for Prime Minister Albin Kurti and his ruling party as tensions remain high with the country's ethnic-Serbian minority and the government in neighboring Serbia itself.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a decade after a war between ethnic-Albanian rebels and Serbian forces, which ended after a 78-day NATO air campaign drove Serbian troops out and the international peacekeeping force moved in.

The conflict left more than 10,000 people dead -- most of them ethnic Albanians from Kosovo.

Kosovo has an ethnic Serbian majority in several districts, while ethnic Albanians overwhelmingly populate the rest of the Balkan country.

Serbia has not recognized Kosovo's independence, and several incidents have ratcheted up angry feelings on both sides in recent years.

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Ethnic Serbs Denounce Raids On Parallel Institutions In Kosovo (Video)

Tensions rose most recently when Kosovar authorities on January 15 raided municipal offices in 10 Serbia-backed areas as the government continued to press the closure of so-called parallel institutions that gave Belgrade leverage in its former province.

Authorities in Kosovo say the work of the Serbian institutions, which have been in operation since the postwar period in 1999, is "illegal."

Ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo have been guided for decades by Belgrade and its parallel structures in the region, including Serbian banks, a pension system, and unemployment benefits.

The United States has been one of Kosovo's major supporters since its independence declaration, but Washington has expressed opposition to many of Pristina's actions against its Serbian minority and has urged negotiated settlements on a range of issues.

The EU has told both sides that a normalization of relations is a requirement to be considered for bloc membership.

The upcoming election has also entered the spotlight after Kosovo's Central Election Commission (CEC) decided on December 23 not to certify the main ethnic Serbian party, effectively barring it from the parliamentary elections.

The CEC said its main reason for declining to certify Serbian List was its nationalist stance and close ties to Serbia.

However, a special appeals court on December 25 ordered the CEC to certify the Serbian List and its candidates for the election, ruling that the party had fulfilled all obligations required regarding filings and was therefore entitled to be certified.

With reporting by AP and AFP