NATO’s mission in Kosovo, KFOR, confirmed that a Kosovo Security Forces (FSK) convoy entered northern Kosovo by mistake earlier today.
KFOR stated that it received confirmation from both the Kosovo Police and the FSK that the unit had temporarily deviated from its intended route for a few minutes before immediately returning to its original path in southern Kosovo.
“KFOR welcomes the continued compliance of FSK with the agreement not to send personnel into northern Kosovo without prior notification and approval from the KFOR commander. This point was reiterated today in a phone call between the KFOR commander and the FSK commander, who confirmed the unit’s temporary route deviation,” KFOR said in a statement provided to KOHË.
The mission also reassured the public that it remains well-positioned across Kosovo, including the north, and is ready to respond to any security developments in line with its United Nations mandate.
According to FSK Public Information Chief Vëllazërim Qerimi, several FSK vehicles briefly entered the territory of North Mitrovica, staying only a few minutes. Kosovo Police Deputy Director for the northern region, Veton Elshani, confirmed this account.
“On October 16, 2025, at 10:30 a.m., during the convoy movement from Istog to the FSK barracks in Mitrovica, FSK personnel mistakenly misidentified their route,” Qerimi told KOHË.
Elshani added that the convoy stopped for about five minutes at a fuel station, where police questioned them. The FSK personnel explained they had mistakenly thought they were in South Mitrovica.
Under the 2013 agreement between the Kosovo Government and NATO, any FSK deployment in northern Kosovo requires prior approval from KFOR. This commitment, made via a letter from former Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi to then-NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, remains in effect today, regardless of changes in FSK’s mandate.
