Germany sending 500 extra troops to Kosovo: ministry

BERLIN - Germany is sending an additional 500 soldiers to Kosovo to prepare for possible unrest after the December 10 deadline on talks for the province's future, the defence ministry confirmed on Wednesday.
The extra troops would boost the German contingent in the 17,000-strong NATO-led KFOR force to 2,800.
The confirmation came after German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said in an interview with the weekly newspaper Rheinischer Merkur to be published on Thursday: "Germany has deployed an additional reserve battalion of 500 men to ensure the stability of Kosovo."
Current efforts to resolve the Serbian province's future status end on December 10 and the ethnic Albanian majority has threatened to declare independence soon afterwards.
The United States and some European nations have said they would recognise Kosovo as an independent state.
fc/gj/ar

11/28/2007 17:40 GMT