UNFICYP | The first joint participation of the Serbian and British Armed Forces after the Second World War in Cyprus – Photos

Defence Redefined

Published on 09/05/2021 at 08:30

After a three-year absence of Serbian troops in the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), Serbia recently deployed a team to the United Nations Police force (UNPOL). 

The squad, which comes from the Serbian Armed Forces Military Police, will serve as part of the British contingent and this marks the first cooperation of the Serbian and British Armed Forces since World War II.

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The send-off ceremony was held at the “Banjica“ barracks in Belgrade last month and was attended by, among others, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Serbia Sian MacLeod.

The first Serbian mission as part of UNFICYP took place on October 21, 2010 with a continuous presence until 2018. Last March, the United Nations appointed Major General Ingrid Gjerde from Norway as the new UNFICYP Commander, provoking the reaction of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affair. The Foreign Affairs Ministry stated that the UN did not follow the principle of equal treatment of the two sides in Cyprus since, as was stated, the “TRNC” was not informed about the appointment in question.

The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus was established by UN Security Council Resolution 186, in 1964, and is the longest-running United Nations peacekeeping mission. UNFICYP employs a total of 1,026 people as shown in the chart below from various countries with the United Kingdom, Slovakia and Argentina being the nations with the largest contribution in terms of personnel.

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With information from: mod.gov.rs, defenceredefined.com.cy, peacekeeping.un.org