Today, in the frameworks of the visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Army Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski, visited the main headquarters of the EUFOR operation ALTHEA, in the Butmir camp in Sarajevo.
Upon arrival at the base, General Gjurchinovski met with the Commander of the operation, Major General Alexander Plazer, to discuss the tasks of ALTHEA, in which we have been participating since November 2006, our contribution to it, and the possibility of increasing our participation in the multinational battalion, which is an integral part of the EUFOR force in BiH.
After the meeting, the delegation led by General Gjurchinovski laid flowers at the memorial to the Macedonian peacekeepers who tragically died in the 2008 helicopter crash.
The Army of the Republic of North Macedonia started participating in the EUFOR “ALTHEA” operation in July 2006 by declaring a helicopter detachment, which was further strengthened by a medical team for “ROLE 1” medical support.
During the visit to the base, the delegation had a brief meeting with our representative in the operation, Major Zlatko Danilov, who introduced General Gjurchinovski in more detail with the assignments he performs within the mission.
During the 15-year participation in this EU peacekeeping operation, in accordance with the requirements, we participated with staff. With the change of the force structure in the operation from December 2018, we contribute with one staff officer.
The participation in the ALTHEA operation is a strong confirmation of the commitment of the Republic of North Macedonia to contribute to the Common Security and Defense Policy and the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, as an overall commitment to integrate in the Union.
On January 12, 2008, a tragic helicopter crash happened near Katlanovo, Blace in which 11 members of the Army, part of the third rotation of the helicopter detachment, lost their lives on their way back from a successfully completed mission in BiH.
