Canada / Bosnia and Herzegovina

Canadian Soldiers Depart Bosnia-Herzegovina
CBC.com, March 29, 2010
"The last of Canada's Forces are leaving Bosnia-Herzegovina after 19 years in the Balkans, the Defence Department said Monday. Six Canadians -- including five officers and one non-commissioned soldier -- serving at NATO headquarters in Sarajevo will be returning to Canada. 'Over the last two decades, Canadians have worked with the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and our UN and NATO partners, to secure a brighter future for the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina,' said Defence Minister Peter MacKay in a statement. 'Canada and the [Canadian Forces] can be proud of having helped make Bosnia-Herzegovina a safer and more stable place,' he said. Since September 1991, more than 40,000 Canadian soldiers served in the Balkans in a variety of missions and roles. Over the years, 23 Forces members lost their lives while serving in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Walter Natynczyk said that when Canadians first deployed in Bosnia-Herzegovina they were performing peacekeeping. 'Now members of the Bosnian armed forces are serving as part of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan,' he said. Canada still has a military presence in the Balkans -- five senior officers are serving with the NATO mission supporting the Kosovo Security Force."
[n.b. This is the complete text of the dispatch. A job well done, and RIP the brave 23. As a totally picky point, the name of the state today is "Bosnia and Herzegovina," not "Bosnia-Herzegovina."]