The UK is deploying around 40 military personnel to Bosnia to ensure ‘free and fair’ elections and counter “malign external influence.”
Britain’s defence secretary Gavin Williamson announced on Friday the deployment of additional troops to Bosnia and Herzegovina ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections in October.
The Times of London reported that 40 specialist military personnel were being sent to counter Russian influence, a growing cause of concern to NATO.
“This deployment demonstrates our commitment to making sure the elections in Bosnia are free and fair — and take place uninterrupted from malign external influence,” Williamson told The Times.
Although he did not name Russia, The Times reported the move was “to help prevent Russian meddling”.
Williamson made the remarks in the wings of a NATO meeting in Brussels, where the UK was due to brief the 28 other members on the deployment.
“We’re going to be working as part of a much wider UN initiative just to make sure that the elections are free and the elections are fair,” Williamson told Forces Network, a website dedicated to British military news.
The troops will join Operation Althea, the international peacekeeping mission in Bosnia which has been on the ground under various names since the Dayton Agreement of 1995 which brought conflict to an end.
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