Further Czech troops leave for KFOR mission in Kosovo

Some 80 Czech soldiers have left for Kosovo to replace their colleagues in the NATO KFOR mission in the province, the Defence Ministry said on Monday. The unit rotation started last Monday and should be completed on July 22. As of August 1, the Czech Republic will take over from Finland the command of the Centre Multinational Brigade in Kosovo for one year. The brigade is overseeing one of the four zones in Kosovo supervised by the NATO KFOR mission. The Czech military will command about 1,600 soldiers from five European countries. The Czech Republic has participated in the Kosovo mission since 1999.