Kosovo Force

{{Short description|NATO-led international peacekeeping force}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}

{{Infobox military unit

| unit_name = Kosovo Force

| image = Coat of arms of the Kosovo Force.svg

| caption = The emblem of KFOR, which contains the Latin and Cyrillic scripts.

| country =

| branch =

| role = NATO peacekeeping

| type = Command

| start_date = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1999|06|11}}

| specialization =

| command_structure = {{Flag|NATO}}

| size = 4,699 military personnel{{cite web|title=Contributing Nations|url=https://jfcnaples.nato.int/kfor/about-us/welcome-to-kfor/contributing-nations|website=jfcnaples.nato.int|publisher=NATO (Official website)|access-date=7 February 2024|archive-date=21 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221160609/https://jfcnaples.nato.int/kfor/about-us/welcome-to-kfor/contributing-nations|url-status=live}}

| nickname = "KFOR"

| commander1 = Major general Enrico Barduani, Italian Army

| commander1_label = Commander

| commander2 = Brigade-general Cahit İrican,{{Cite web |title=NATO'nun Kosova'daki Barış Gücü'nün Komutan Yardımcısı Tuğgeneral Cahit İrican oldu |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/dunya/natonun-kosovadaki-baris-gucunun-komutan-yardimcisi-tuggeneral-cahit-irican-oldu/3366761 |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=www.aa.com.tr}} Turkish Armed Forces

| commander2_label = Deputy Commander

| commander3 = BG Art Garffer, US Army

| commander3_label = Chief of Staff

| commander4 = Primo luogotenente q.s. Marcello Carlo Pagliara, Italian Army

| commander4_label = Command Sergeant Major

| current_commander =

| garrison =

| battles = Yugoslav Wars

| notable_commanders =

| website = [https://jfcnaples.nato.int/kfor jfcnaples.nato.int/kfor]

| identification_symbol = File:Flag of the Kosovo Force.svg

| identification_symbol_label = Flag

}}

File:KFOR_conducts_roadblock_removal_in_Mitrovica_-_Swisscoy_Swiss_Army_Iveco_Trakker_500_8x8_armoured_truck_(cropped).webp truck used by the KFOR in 2024]]

The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a NATO-led international peacekeeping force and military of Kosovo.{{cite journal |last1=Khakee |first1=Anna |last2=Florquin |first2=Nicolas |date=1 June 2003 |title=Kosovo: Difficult Past, Unclear Future |url=https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/resources/SAS-SR03-Kosovo.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Kosovo and the Gun: A Baseline Assessment of Small Arms and Light Weapons in Kosovo |location=Pristina, United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo and Geneva, Switzerland |publisher=Small Arms Survey |volume=10 |pages=4–6 |doi= |jstor=resrep10739.9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630150030/https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/resources/SAS-SR03-Kosovo.pdf |archive-date=30 June 2022 |access-date=3 March 2023 |quote=Kosovo—while still formally part of the so-called State Union of Serbia and Montenegro dominated by Serbia—has, since the war, been a United Nations protectorate under the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). [...] However, members of the Kosovo Serb minority of the territory (circa 6–7 per cent in 2000) have, for the most part, not been able to return to their homes. For security reasons, the remaining Kosovo Serb enclaves are, in part, isolated from the rest of Kosovo and protected by the multinational NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR).}} KFOR is the third security responder, after the Kosovo Police and the EU Rule of Law (EULEX) mission, respectively, with whom NATO peacekeeping forces work in close coordination.{{cite web |title=KFOR's Strategic Reserve Force to redeploy from Kosovo following successful 45-day mission

|url=https://jfcnaples.nato.int/kfor/media-center/archive/news/2024/kfors-strategic-reserve-force-to-redeploy-from-kosovo-following-successful-45day-mission |website=jfcnaples.nato.int |location=Pristina, Kosovo |access-date=28 October 2024 |date=7 December 2024}} Its operations are gradually reducing until the Kosovo Security Force, established in 2009, becomes self-sufficient.{{cite web |title=NATO's role in Kosovo |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_48818.htm |website=nato.int |access-date=6 December 2018 |date=29 November 2018 |archive-date=26 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226003522/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_48818.htm |url-status=live }}

KFOR entered Kosovo on 12 June 1999,{{Cite web|url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_48818.htm|title=NATO's role in Kosovo|website=nato.int|language=en|access-date=2024-06-12|archive-date=26 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226003522/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_48818.htm|url-status=live}} one day after the United Nations Security Council adopted the UNSC Resolution 1244. At the time, Kosovo was facing a grave humanitarian crisis, with military forces from Yugoslavia in action against the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in daily engagements. Nearly one million people had fled Kosovo as refugees by that time, many of whom left permanently.

Currently, 28 states contribute to the KFOR, with a combined strength of approximately 4,686 military personnel.{{cite web |title=NATO Mission in Kosovo (KFOR) |url=https://shape.nato.int/ongoingoperations/nato-mission-in-kosovo-kfor- |website=shape.nato.int |access-date=6 February 2024}}