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The Ministry of Defence has confirmed 200 of the 1st Battalion of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment will arrive in Kosovo over the next few days.<\/p>\n
They will join NATO’s peacekeeping operation.<\/p>\n
Around 400 British troops are already in Kosovo on an annual exercise.<\/p>\n
A deadly siege at a monastery in northern Kosovo, with masked gunmen and local police engaging in a standoff last weekend led to the local authorities requesting international support.<\/p>\n
The assailants barricaded themselves inside with priests and visiting pilgrims – and an officer was killed along with three of the gunmen in a 12-hour shootout.<\/p>\n
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READ MORE: <\/strong> Veteran slams \u2018woke\u2019 university for banning British Army from fair<\/strong><\/p>\n Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, Chief of the Defence Staff, said: \u201cThe deployment of the 1st Battalion of the Princess of Wales\u2019s Royal Regiment demonstrates the responsiveness of the UK\u2019s Armed Forces. We continue to be a fundamental part of the NATO alliance, sharing our military expertise and strength.<\/p>\n \u201cThe extension of our support to the Kosovo Force (KFOR) underlines our unwavering commitment to NATO and the security of the Western Balkans region\u201d.<\/p>\n In May, Armed Forces Minister James Heappey announced the UK’s contribution to the Nato Kosovo Force (KFOR) Mission in Kosovo will continue until at least 2026.<\/p>\n The UK has been a key contributor to the UN-mandated Nato force since it first entered Kosovo as a peacekeeping force in 1999 to bring peace and stability following the conflict of the 1990s.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/139\/590x\/secondary\/4987979.jpg?r=1696170416393\")
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