More than 150 soldiers from the 43rd Airborne Regiment from Chrudim are currently participating in actions in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a part of the EUFOR Althea peacekeeping mission. Together with their colleagues from Italy and Romania, the Czech soldiers reinforced the international garrison supporting the security forces in the country as part of the Intermediate Reserve Force (IRF) company, at a time of increasingly tense relations with the separatist Bosnian Serbs. For example, Czech paratroopers in Camp Butmir have already undergone intensive counter-insurgency training.

The European Union has decided to increase the strength of the international peacekeeping mission EUFOR Althea, which now numbers around 1,100 personnel, in response to the deteriorating security situation in the Balkan country. Republika Srpska leader Milorad Dodik has escalated his rhetoric in recent weeks regarding secession from the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, declaring that he will not respect central state institutions on his territory, including the Supreme Court, the police, or the secret service. Dodik, who represents the Bosnian Serb minority (comprising less than a third of the country's population), and who is also supported by both Moscow and Belgrade, has threatened that his local government will consider EUFOR troops to be an occupying force. Once approved by its parliament, this move could formally lead to a declaration of martial law in Republika Srpska, which covers roughly half of the country. To this end, Dodik also seeks to leverage Russia's influence at the UN.

"I don't have a problem with that. Bring in 10,000 people if 1,000 is not enough, but stick to your mandate. No Serb will shoot at you or do anything to you, but Serbs are not prepared to suffer under occupation And this Romanian general, who is trying to pretend to be here, is classic proof of the occupation. Maybe we will declare them an occupying force, we will see," Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik said on RTRS television.

More than 400 new members of the Intermediate Reserve Force (IRF) have arrived in Bosnia as part of the mission's In addition to 300 soldiers from Romania and Italy, about 150 Czech soldiers from the 43rd Airborne Regiment from Chrudim They arrived in Bosnia by air and by land together with military equipment such as Land Rover Defender 130 Cayman vehicles for combat and special tasks or wheeled logistics and medical support equipment Unless orders are changed, the Czech paratroopers are expected to spend one month in the country.

Video: Czech soldiers at Sarajevo airport / YouTube

Because of the possible threat of unrest 30 years after the Srebrenica massacre, Czech soldiers are focusing on training for a possible clash with armed demonstrators. "The reserve forces are here! The Czech and Romanian contingents have just passed their tests with flying colours during an intensive exercise in Camp Butmir," EUFOR Althea mission headquarters wrote on its Facebook account. "From simulating VIP escort and protection, to crowd control, first aid under pressure, ambush scenarios and reconnaissance missions, they proved that they are ready for anything. Once again, our multinational force showed unwavering discipline and top professionalism. We are always improving, always ready!"

"We are not wasting time in Bosnia! Our Chrudim paratroopers started training with allied soldiers as soon as they arrived. We have to coordinate our procedures as quickly as possible because in a foreign operation we work as one team, and there is no room for mistakes," the Czech Army wrote on its Facebook profile regarding the deployment.

The EUFOR Althea military mission aims to oversee the implementation of the Dayton Agreement of December 1995 between Bosnian, Serb and Croat leaders, which ended the bloody conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina by military stalemate. Over 100 000 people, mainly from the Muslim minority Bosniaks, died in the three years of conflict. The peace agreement was intended to ensure respect for all three parties and, among other things, created the right to self-government for the Republika Srpska. However, the government in Sarajevo has long failed to exercise its prerogatives there, which, 30 years after the end of the conflict, has again led to a gradual stirring up of separatist tendencies among the Bosnian Serbs. The unwavering integrity of the country was pledged by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte during his recent visit to Sarajevo and Pristina. The EU took over responsibility for EUFOR from the Alliance in December 2004.