VS could participate in eight more UN, EU missions

VS could participate in eight more UN, EU missions

BELGRADE -- Serbian Army Chief of the General Staff Gen. Ljubiša Diković says there is a possibility VS soldiers could participate in eight more multinational operations.

Seven of those would be under the operational control of the United Nations (UN) and one under the European Union (EU).

The UN operations are deployed in the Western Sahara, in the Republic of Mali, in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, the Middle East, in southern Sudan, and two are in Sudan, Diković said for the new issue of the VS magazine Odbrana ("Defense").

He said that plans include sending a VS medical team to a UN-led multinational operation in the Republic of Mali and an increase in the VS strength in the UN mission in Lebanon.

Plans for 2014 also include engagement of up to 500 military personnel in nine multinational operations - six mandated by the UN and three under the auspices of the EU.

“There are currently 215 members of our military deployed in multinational operations,” he said.

Members of the Serbian Defense Ministry and the Army are currently deployed in the UN peacekeeping missions in Congo, Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire, Lebanon, Cyprus and the Middle East and in two EU operations in Somalia.