Bundeswehr in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Return to the Balkan state

The Bundeswehr is sending soldiers to Bosnia and Herzegovina again for the first time in ten years. Why is this necessary? And what does this have to do with the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine?

It is the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine that has led to the federal government rediscovering the Balkans. Berlin wants to prevent Moscow from expanding its influence in the region and stoking tensions on the EU’s doorstep. The fact that Germany is now sending soldiers to Bosnia and Herzegovina for the first time in ten years fits into this strategy. This was confirmed by a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense ARD Capital Studio.

contact with the population

When the Bundeswehr returns to the Balkan country, the mission is very similar to what it was then: On the one hand, the Germans are to support the training of the armed forces from the capital, Sarajevo. On the other hand, maintaining contact with the population and acting as a kind of early warning system should tensions escalate. This is done by the soldiers becoming part of the EU Liaison and Observation Teams, also called “Liaison and Observation Teams”. They shouldn’t just hide behind barracks walls, but should be the people’s point of contact. And can also rent civilian houses for this purpose, where they are accessible to the population.

A German team is also to be sent to the Republic of Srpska. In other words, in the troubled region that is considered a kind of Achilles’ heel of the fragile peace in the Balkans: Here the leader of the Bosnian Serbs, Milorad Dodik, is working to split off this region and join it to Serbia, which he sees as the “motherland”.

Russia’s ruler Vladimir Putin is accused of supporting exactly these efforts: The German government sees the danger that the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine “could be used as a catalyst for further destabilization of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” as the text for the Bundestag mandate for the German deployment is called.

elections in October

In addition, elections are due in Bosnia and Herzegovina in October. It is to be feared that the already tense situation in the run-up to the vote could deteriorate further.

The German mission is initially planned to last until the end of June 2023. Around 2,000 soldiers from more than 20 countries are involved in the EU mission “EUFOR Althea”. So now the Federal Republic is part of it again.

Even if the mission of the Bundeswehr is comparatively small with a maximum mandate of up to 50 soldiers and will certainly not be fully exploited – its symbolic importance is enormous. It should send out the signal that Germany and the EU will not stand idly by when the conflicts in the Balkans break out openly again.