Commander of American troops in Kosovo: Willing to Prevent Violence

Some of the American soldiers are stationed at the New York Hill camp near the town of Leposaviqi, in northern Kosovo and patrol streets linking Kosovo and Serbia

“We are willing to react to everything and are well prepared, well trained and equipped to react to anything that might happen here. I am sure of this”, says Colonel Ross Walker, commander of American troops in Kosovo.

American soldiers park their white trucks, which are not armoured, near the border with Serbia and then walk near metal bars that until recently carry signs signaling the border line between Kosovo and Serbia.

I think the key to this is peaceful dialogue. Although we are willing to react to everything, our wish is always to do things through a dialogue against any kind of violence”, says US Colonel Ross Walker.

We come here quite often. I can't talk about any details about what we have, or we haven't seen, but if we notice anything, information is passed on to local rule bodies”, says US Army Lieutenant in Kosovo Mcveigh.

NATO has been reinforced in Kosovo with 1,000 additional troops following the violence that erupted last September, during which a police officer was killed in a shootout between Kosovo police and armed men who entered from Serbia.

Western diplomats and some analysts warn that the latest tensions over Kosovo's decision banning the use of the Serbian dinar could further fuel tensions in the north. / VOA