On 6 May 2021, the Formed Police Unit (FPU) of the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) conducted a joint training with the Hungarian KFOR Tactical Reserve Battalion (KTRBN) on crowd and riot control (CRC) at Camp Novo Selo.

43 members of the EULEX FPU and some 120 soldiers of the KFOR Hungarian contingent participated in this exercise, which demonstrates the close cooperation between EULEX and KFOR as we deliver security to Kosovo.

The CRC exercise focused, in particular, on strengthening communication and coordination between EULEX as a second security responder and KFOR as a third security responder in the three-layer system with Kosovo Police as first responder and improving common CRC tactics and procedures.

Since June 2018 until today, the EULEX Formed Police Unit has participated in seven joint trainings with the Kosovo Police and KFOR, two trainings with the Kosovo Police and 39 trainings with KFOR. These trainings hone capacities to ensure effective coordination among the three security responders in case of a real-life deployment.

Last week, EULEX’s FPU team also trained with KFOR on how to conduct a helicopter medical evacuation at the EULEX base in Mitrovica. During the training, members of the FPU learned how to correctly send a request for a medevac, how to prepare patients for extraction by helicopter and how to properly load the patients onto the helicopter to be taken to a medical facility for treatment.

As the second security responder, the EULEX Formed Police Unit also conducts daily reconnaissance patrols, with a focus in northern Kosovo.