KSPFOR XX

Task Force “Baleares II” (KSPFOR XX), detached on Base “España”, in the locality of Istok, at the command of Colonel Miguel-Ángel Conde López, began its mission on 16th April 2008, with the Transfer of Authority received by Task Force “Ceuta” at the command of Colonel José Acevedo Espejo.

The twentieth Spanish Task Force for Kosovo puts itself at the disposal of the United Nations through NATO, according to the commitment made by Spain arising from resolution 1244 of the UNO.

In all, Task Force KSPFOR XX, is made up of 585 servicepeople, the bulk, 230 to be precise, from Balearic General Command units. Of these, 117 belong to the Field Artillery Command based in León, and 56 to the 12th Armoured Light Cavalry Regiment “Farnesio in Valladolid and 37 from the 21st Signals Regiment, Valencia. The Expeditionary Logistics Group (SK-20), integrated in the force, is made up of 106 servicepeople belonging to the 51st Logistics Support Group in Burgos.

This makes the second time that the Balearic General Command leads a peacekeeping operation; the first was in 2006 in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Multinational Brigade Southeast (BMN SW), based in Prizren, has been transformed into two distinct task forces:  “South”, which continues in this locality and is made up of Germans, Turks and Austrians; and “West&rdquo, made up of Spaniards, Italians, Romanians, Bulgarians and Slovenians.  The Spanish mission within the Multinational Force framework is:

• Maintaining a safe and stable environment (SASE) in the assigned Area of Responsibility, as well as guaranteeing freedom of movements in the same, thus contributing to attaining the security levels of UNO Resolution 1244 and the Accord reached with Serbia.
• Undertaking special monitoring of enclaves, resettlements and national heritage sites.
• Co-operating closely with the Police for the Interim United Nations Administrative Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK-P) and the Kosovan Police.
• Providing protection to the Force.