The Irish Guards Battle Group advanced into Kosovo on Saturday 12 June, 1999. We had been given the crucial task of securing Pristina, the capital city. None of us knew what to expect. Although the Serbs had signed an agreement to withdraw and not to hinder the advancing NATO force, it was known that there was dissent in their ranks, and thus a threat that we might face opposition. As we rolled north through the Kacanik Gorge, passing the weary Gurkhas and soldiers of the Parachute Regiment who had secured it at dawn, the lasting impression was one of silence. Aside from our comrades, there was no other life with the exception of stray dogs and donkeys. Either side of the road, as far as the eye could see, houses lay in ruins, charred roof timbers and the absence of life testimony to the savage Serb pogrom.
The thunderstorms that had accompanied us all the way from the border brought on darkness quickly that first evening. It found us strung out over twenty kilometres of the main road to Pristina, the head of our column just short of the city. We had seen Yugoslavian military convoys crossing our path but no resistance had been offered. However tension remained high as we settled for the night. Sporadic gunfire could be heard and there was the ever-present threat of mines. During the early hours a great convoy of Serb tanks roared past us, their silhouettes menacing in the beam of an occasional headlight. Waking at dawn on the second day we found that their thunderous passage had been replaced with a silent stationary column of Italian vehicles, waiting patiently for us to secure the route through Pristina and allow them to proceed to their destination in the West.
Our entry into Pristina was dramatic. The road from the South crests a hill and the city is suddenly and unexpectedly revealed below, a great sweeping panorama. As we swept down the hill into the outskirts we were again struck by the silence. The city was deserted, or appeared to be, though we knew from intelligence reports that there were still over 10,000 people living within its limits. Slowly, as our armoured vehicles fanned-out through the streets, people started to emerge from their hiding places. Joy replaced fear as they realized that the months of terror were at an end. Soon our Warriors were swamped with singing crowds and bedecked with the flowers they threw. Amid the air of carnival though, the threat of Serb retaliation remained. The guardsmen had important tasks to complete and could not afford to be distracted by the crowds for too long.
Once the city had been secured, the Paras were flown forward to assist in keeping the peace. We handed over the eastern half to them and concentrated on keeping the main route through the city clear for the units of other nations to use on their way to the outer extremities of the country.
It was not long before the Albanian Kosovars gave vent to their pent-up anger. Disputes between Albanians and Serbian Kosovars who had remained behind often degenerated into violence and the guardsmen were frequently caught in the crossfire or required to intervene. Often such interventions would be under the noses of the international press corps who swarmed through the city in search of drama. They found it the day that Sergeant Meadows of the Mortar Platoon had to disarm a furious man who was about to throw a grenade at someone with whom he was arguing. Although the pin had been removed, he safely disposed of it, earning himself a place as one of the Daily Star's Men of the Year! "All in a day's work" he said, and he wasn't wrong.
While the attention of the world's media was on the anarchy we were struggling to contain in Pristina, the rest of the Battle Group spread out to take control of the surrounding countryside. In the West this comprises a vast opencast mine which feeds the huge power stations responsible for supplying electricity to most of the Balkans. The area is a Serb stronghold centred on the town of Kosovo Polje. In the East, the terrain is remote and hilly and abuts the Serbian border. It is exclusively Albanian and provides a meagre living from subsistence farming. To the South another Serb area contains one of the holiest shrines of Serb Orthodox Church, the 14th century monastery at Gracinica. The walls of its church are covered in the most exquisite murals of scenes from the scriptures. It is a miracle that it has survived the centuries, especially the devastation of the German occupation in the last World War.
As word that it was safe to return spread like wildfire through the refugee camps in Macedonia and Albania, the exiled Kosovar Albanians started their journey home. This was not the planned repatriation which the UNHCR had anticipated. The consequence has been a sudden influx of people who have found their homes destroyed and their livestock killed or removed to Serbia. Most need shelter of some form and many medical assistance as well. This immediate demand is what the UNHCR sought to avoid because it takes time for the aid agencies to establish themselves and start distributing the basic commodities. While the delivery of bulk supplies to Kosovo was fairly swift, it has taken longer for the non-governmental organizations to organize its distribution. In the interim, the Battle Group has lent a hand. Because we patrolled to the remotest villages as soon as we arrived, we have been able to identify the areas of greatest need and either take aid to them ourselves, or to direct the agencies. Quite apart from keeping the peace, it is this immediate relief of suffering that gives us all the most satisfaction. Knowing that what we do does make a difference sustains us through the more unpleasant times.
The evidence of atrocities is never far away. There are many graves and the survivors' stories are harrowing. In the initial stages we were involved in removing bodies which had lain unburied for some time. These and the grave sites are recorded for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) who are gathering evidence to support the indictment and prosecution of those responsible. It is an unpleasant and difficult task, but one which is necessary if the perpetrators are not to escape justice.
Despite the evidence of these crimes, it would be quite wrong to regard every Serb as a criminal. As in all conflict there are innocent on both sides. It is important to remember that many of the Serbian Kosovars lived in harmony with their Albanian compatriots. Indeed, we have heard stories from Albanians of Serbs going to extraordinary lengths to defend Albanians from the police and army. Those Serbs that remain today live in fear, subject to intimidation by the returning Albanian population. They have no future outside Kosovo. Slobodan Milosovic has passed a law in Serbia which forbids the employment or education of Kosovar Serbs and as a result we have already seen some returns. We have no illusions about how difficult it will be for the two communities to live together again, but we are here to protect both sides while the United Nations attempts to rebuild the political institutions which will make this possible.
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