German troops 'hid like rabbits' during rioting (Kosovo)

Chicago Sun Times ^ | 05/10/04 | BY TONY PATERSON Advertisement

[Andy from Beaverton]

 

German troops 'hid like rabbits' during rioting

May 10, 2004

BY TONY PATERSON

BERLIN -- German troops serving with the KFOR international peacekeeping contingent in Kosovo have been accused of hiding in barracks "like frightened rabbits" during the interethnic rioting that erupted in the province in March.

A hard-hitting German police report sent to the Berlin government last week criticizes the troops for cowardice and for their failure to quell the rioting in which 19 people died and about 900 others were injured.

The charges -- the most serious made against the German army since World War II -- have been levelled by police officers serving with the United Nations civil administration in Kosovo.

During the two-day riots between Albanians and Serbs, an Albanian mob burned and looted 29 Serb churches and monasteries in the southern city of Prizren, and caused several thousand Serbs to flee their homes.

Leaked excerpts from the report on the conduct of the 3,600-strong German contingent based in Prizren disclose that U.N. Kosovo police were left to fend for themselves at the height of the rioting.

"Despite continuous appeals for help from KFOR, nobody from the military appeared to back up the police," the report said. "KFOR proved to be incapable of carrying out the duties to which it has been assigned."

Further damning evidence, based on interviews with U.N. Kosovo officers, Serb church leaders and unnamed U.N. officials in Prizren, was published in Der Spiegel magazine.

The magazine concluded: "The German soldiers ran away and hid like frightened rabbits in their barracks. They only reappeared in armored vehicles after the Albanian mob had wreaked its havoc and left a trail of destruction."

"We were acting exactly according to the rules," said Col. Dieter Hintelmann, who heads the German KFOR contingent in Prizren. They prohibit troops from protecting buildings and allow the use of firearms only in self-defense.

Sunday Telegraph

[Andy from Beaverton]

I think they were hiding behind the French troops who also ran.

[Andy from Beaverton]

cut and run bump

[A Simple Soldier]

Do a search next time. This is at least 3 days old news.

[denydenydeny]

This is what John Kerry wants for the whole world.

[dead]

"I know nutzing!"

[Andy from Beaverton]

Do a search next time. This is at least 3 days old news.
Hate to disappoint you, but I did a search. Don't blame me for the failings of the Freep search engine. What difference does it make if it is three days old if it hasn't been posted yet???

[FormerLib]

Do a search next time. This is at least 3 days old news.

Check the date on the source. This is from yesterday. You are referring to a different report.

[no_problema]

it's going to be fun watching the euro's in the future as the moslems within destroy their countries.

[Old Sarge]

The Germans of this young generation have been broken by Socialism. To them, there is nothing worth fighting for, not even one's own survival.

This was a nation which gave us icons of warriors' strength and nobility; reduced to effeminite wards of the state. My heart is sick for them.

[dead]

He's probably German.

[adam_az]

"We were acting exactly according to the rules," said Col. Dieter Hintelmann, who heads the German KFOR contingent in Prizren. He added, "We love the Serbians, they are so angular! In fact, I was too busy loving some angular Serbians to do the tedious fighting. Fighting is so banal."

[jjm2111]

But we're talking about the Werhmacht here? What happened???

[yankeedame]

German troops 'hid like rabbits' during rioting (Kosovo)

Having lived in Germany for 8 years this doesn't surprise me one bit. For one thing, what can you expect from an army whose "uniform" (and I use the word loosely) looks like a green jump-suit a grease-monkey might wear?

[TheBattman]

Close to what I was thinking- that these Germans must have been trained by the French....

[A Simple Soldier]

No but thanks for your input.

[rightwingcrazy]

"We were acting exactly according to the rules..."

Evidently their job is to prevent ethnic Serbs from defending themselves.

[A Simple Soldier]

I am not trying to be the FreeRepublic nanny, but I just searched and came up with these in less than 1 minute.

I used "German Troops" as my search term. All were posted before you and the first one is the exact article from today and posted over two hours before you.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1133353/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1132373/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1132154/posts

[John Lenin]

I saw nothing !

[Andy from Beaverton]

Well I'm not going to search for every single word in the article I want to post. As you can see, the article I posted has a different headline than the rest. You should be getting on BayouCoyote and elfman2 for posting the exact same article.

[JudgemAll]

Having lived in Germany for 8 years this doesn't surprise me one bit. For one thing, what can you expect from an army whose "uniform" (and I use the word loosely) looks like a green jump-suit a grease-monkey might wear?

When those troops had been killed in Afghanistan, I was astounded to see the cofins in Germany driven on top of what looked like dump trucks. I kid you not.