EU Doubles Bosnia Peacekeepers as Global Security ‘Deteriorates’

European Union Force EUFOR troops attend the handover ceremony of their chief-of-staff in Sarajevo, 7 May 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/FEHIM DEMIR

"The deterioration of the security situation internationally has the potential to spread instability to Bosnia and Herzegovina," EUFOR said on Thursday.

"The deployment of these forces is a precautionary measure to strengthen stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina by positioning sufficient, capable forces in-country to support the BiH Government efforts to maintain a safe and secure environment," it added.

This decision was made in the past days, and was not directly caused by Russian military operations in Ukraine on Thursday, Western officials told BIRN, speaking on condition of anonymity.

They said the reinforcements were linked with a broader deterioration in security on the global scene, caused not only by the crisis in Ukraine but also Russia's influence In the Balkan region, particularly in Bosnia's Serb-dominated entity, Republika Srpska, as well as Montenegro and Serbia.

"It is obvious what is happening in the world right now," EUFOR spokesman Cpt Seamus Shannon told BIRN. However, he added: "There is currently no threat to the safe and secure environment" in Bosnia.

"It is a prudent and proportionate measure which reflects the EU's and EUFOR's unequivocal commitment to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia," the EUFOR statement added.

EUFOR has been deployed in Bosnia since 2004. Its initial strength was around 7,000 troops. This was reduced to 1,600 in 2017 and then to 600. The additional 500 troops will effectively almost double EUFOR's presence.

Western officials told BIRN that EUFOR could bring in another 2,000 or more troops at relatively short notice -...