Serbian army to reinforce south of country with professional soldiers - daily
BBC Monitoring Europe (Political) - November 17, 2007, Saturday

Text of report by Serbian newspaper Blic on 16 November

[Report by "T.N.Dj.": "Another 700 Troops for Southern Serbia"]

By advertising for signing up more than 700 soldiers for various duties in the garrisons in Vranje, Leskovac, and Bujanovac, the army means to reinforce southern Serbia with professional soldiers, a source close to the Serbia government told Blic.

These garrisons are tasked with securing the administrative boundary line and the Ground Safety Zone around Kosmet [Kosovo-Metohija] on the territory of the southern Serbian municipalities of Bujanovac, Presevo, and Medvedja. This step may be interpreted as part of a response to threats coming in from the Albanian National Army [ANA; AKSh in Albanian], while also being in keeping with the programme for transforming the Army of Serbia and making it completely professional by the year 2010.

Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac said on Tuesday [13 November] that the Army of Serbia would not tolerate any kind of unrest in southern Serbia, that it would respond very efficaciously to any kind of violence, and that it would not permit any form of terrorism to spill over from Kosovo or Macedonia into Serbia. He warned that the army would react with lightning speed. BIA [Security-Information Agency] director Rade Bulatovic said, reporting on the BIA's work at a session of the assembly's Security Committee, that he had fresh information about coordinated activities of Albanian structures in southern Serbia and northern Macedonia. He said that their strongholds had been reinforced and that they had raised their level of mobility and increased arms supplies, recruitment, fundraising, and linking up with Albanian extremists in the region. He said that the critical period would be in the run up to and after 10 December.

The Army of Serbia has already replenished its bases along the administrative boundary line with professional soldiers to their full complement. Odbrana magazine writes that prospective new professional soldiers will be taken on for a trial period of three months and signed up to a three-year contract.

Source: Blic, Belgrade, in Serbian 16 Nov 07, pp 2-3
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