Bundestag decides to extend Bundeswehr deployments in Lebanon and Kosovo
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) primarily ensures the security of the Lebanese coast and coastal waters and aims to prevent arms smuggling. The mandate limit for German participation remains at up to 300 military personnel. This involves participation with ships, personnel at the Unifil headquarters, and training of the Lebanese Navy.
Unifil has been in operation for over 40 years. The security situation in Lebanon, however, has significantly deteriorated due to the armed conflict between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas. There are almost daily mutual attacks by the Hisbollah militia in Lebanon and the Israeli army.
The Bundeswehr has been present in Kosovo since June 1999, with approximately 300 German soldiers and personnel currently serving. The limit for the Bundeswehr contingent at the NATO-led mission KFOR (Kosovo Force) is 400 troops. In total, around 4,800 soldiers and personnel from 28 participating countries are in service for KFOR. The goal is to create and maintain a secure environment in Kosovo for the establishment of a civil peace order and to ensure public safety and order.
The security situation in Kosovo is still considered fragile. In 2023, the contingent was therefore reinforced. The country declared its independence from Serbia after a NATO-led military operation in 1999 and a UN transitional administration in 2008. Serbia does not recognize this independence. Conflicts mainly arise repeatedly regarding the status of the ethnic Serbian minority in the northern part of the country.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the EU-led stabilization mission Eufor Althea is ongoing. The Bundeswehr has been involved in this since nearly two years with up to 50 soldiers and personnel, having been previously deployed there from 2004 to 2012. The personnel ceiling for deployment should remain the same. Eufor Althea is intended to ensure security in the Balkan country as the successor mission to the NATO-led "Stabilization Force."
The extension of German Armed Forces participation in Unifil, despite the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, is subject to the limit of 300 military personnel. The Bundeswehr, in their blue helmets, have been deployed in Kosovo for over two decades, assisting in the NATO-led KFOR mission, aiming to maintain a secure environment for civil peace establishment. Despite the fragile security situation, Bundeswehr deployments in Kosovo were reinforced in 2023. In contrast, Hamas operates in Gaza, facing conflict with Israel, a situation far from the peacekeeping duties of German Armed Forces in Kosovo. Similarly, KFOR peacekeepers in Kosovo, including Bundeswehr personnel, work diligently to maintain order, different from the conflict-ridden situations in Lebanon and Gaza. The concept of foreign assignment for the Bundeswehr, equally applicable to those deployed to Lebanon, Kosovo, or Bosnia and Herzegovina, revolves around maintaining peace and ensuring public safety, a far cry from the conflicts faced by Israel and Hamas.
