Swisscoy members pulled away from fighting in Macedonia
Escalating violence between Macedonian troops and Albanian rebels in Macedonia has prompted Swisscoy to move a handful of its peacekeeping volunteers further away from the fighting.
A Swisscoy spokesman, Felix Endrich, said five members of its mission had been moved ten kilometres away from the Macedonian city of Tetovo towards the city of Erebino.
According to Endrich, Swisscoy’s logistical platform was located very close to the Macedonian military barracks in Tetovo, which were the target of shooting attacks by Albanian rebels on Friday.
Approximately 1,000 German soldiers, as well as a group of Austrian soldiers, were also based at the Tetovo camp with the Swisscoy members.
Endrich said the Swiss peacekeepers were joined by the Austrian soldiers, at a new camp in Erebino, late on Friday. The Swiss Defence Ministry said that the movement of the soldiers took place without incident.
Swisscoy is made up of 160, mainly unarmed, Swiss army volunteers taking part in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.
swissinfo with agencies
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