Paramilitary organizations

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he has "serious concerns" regarding the proposal to form an army in Kosovo.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he has "serious concerns" regarding the proposal to form an army in Kosovo.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he had spoken by phone on Wednesday with Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and Prime Minister Isa Mustafa to convey the "serious concerns of NATO allies" about recent proposals by the Kosovo authorities to transform the Kosovo Security Force, KSF, into an army without prior constitutional changes and consent across all communities.

The transformation of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) into an army - an initiative launched by Hashim Thaci - "does not have international support."

Albanian language daily Koha Ditore is reporting this a day after Thaci, who serves as Kosovo president, and Kosovo Assembly Speaker Kadri Veseli presented a draft bill on transforming the KSF into "the Armed Forces of Kosovo."

Kosovo's President is planning to establish a regular army for the country by amending the current Law on the Kosovo Security Force, KSF, extending its powers and responsibilities.

A change to the competencies of the existing KSF would circumvent the need to win Kosovo Serb MPs' approval for the formation of a regular army.

The parliament of the self-proclaimed Kosovo Republic has adopted a draft resolution to transform the Kosovo Security Forces into Kosovo Armed Forces.

In an interview with Sputnik, Dusan Celic, a professor of law in Pristina, warned about the danger this could pose to the Serb minority in Kosovo and Serbia in general.

The defense ministers of Albania and Croatia seek NATO to support the transformation of the Kosovo Security Force into Kosovo Armed Forces, Telegraf reports.

BELGRADE - Members of the Kosovo Parliament adopted with 68 votes "for" and none "against" the draft resolution on the transformation of the Kosovo Security Forces into Kosovo Armed Forces.

The appeals court upheld the verdict convicting ten former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, including Sylejman Selimi, of crimes against civilians during the 1998-99 conflict.

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci has described the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) as "Kosovo’s future army."

According to his website, he also spoke about "the involvement of the members of all communities, with an advanced gender composition," to conclude this was "the best indicator of the character of the state and of our society."