Albania vows to continue missions abroad following death
of army officer, wounding of soldier in Afghanistan.
Albania’s military suffered its first combat casualty in a NATO mission last week, when an army officer was killed and another soldier was wounded during a mission in southern Afghanistan. Albanian Army Captain Feto Vogli was killed and Corporal Aleksander Peci was severely injured in a surprise attack on their elite commando unit while on a joint mission with U.S. soldiers protecting aid workers.
The shooting occurred when an Afghan police officer accompanying the NATO forces opened fire on the Albanian and U.S. troops. An American soldier of the joint unit was also wounded, according to defense ministry and alliance officials.
Top Albanian political leaders reacted to the news with sorrow, but also determination to continue Albania’s peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
The soldiers were in the village of Robat in southern Afghanistan on Feb. 20, accompanying and securing an USAID mission which was meeting with locals to discuss building two schools and a health center in the village. The exact circumstances of the attack remain unclear, but it appears an Afghan policeman fired on the Albanian soldiers with a machine gun.
“They found themselves attacked by a group of persons wearing uniforms of the Afghan police,” Brig. Gen. Viktor Berdo, head of Albanian land forces, told reporters in Tirana. The Albanian ministry said the remaining soldiers “arrested 11 Afghan policemen who opened fire.” In the Feb. 20 incident, the attackers opened fire with five assault rifles and one light automatic machine gun, the Albanian Defense Ministry said.
The wounded were sent to hospital immediately, but Captain Vogli did not survive his wounds. Corporal Peci was listed in stable conditions following multiple surgeries in U.S. hospitals in Afghanistan and Germany. He was earlier in a coma and listed in very serious condition, but a spokesman of the Albanian armed forces said his condition improved significantly in the few days after the attack.
An investigation of the incident and questioning of the Afghan police officers involved in the attack is expected to reveal the reasons behind the attack. CNN had earlier reported the shooting followed a quarrel between the soldiers and the policemen.
Albania currently has 256 soldiers in Afghanistan as part of NATO’s ISAF mission, which Albania was among the first countries to join in 2002. That number includes a combat platoon from Albania’s elite commando unit. In addition to soldiers, Tirana has also sent police experts to train Afghan units. In relation to its small population, Albania has no less participation in the NATO mission than other NATO countries.
About the soldiers
The dead and wounded Albanians were part of a unit that left Albania in mid-January for a six-month tour of duty.
Captain Vogli’s death marks the first time an Albanian soldier has died in an international mission. The 31-year-old comes from a central Albanian Muslim family. A native of Baldushk, a village a few kilometers outside Tirana, the captain was a professional soldier and a veteran of foreign missions. At a young age for his rank and experience, this was his third mission abroad. He had also previously served in Iraq with Albanian troops there. He is survived by his 3-year-old daughter and wife.
Corporal Peci, 24, was on his first tour abroad when he got wounded. He started his mission there last month. His family, Catholics from northeastern Albania, live in Tirana’s Bathore suburb. He is scheduled to marry his fianc顴his summer.
Condolences and honors have poured in for the dead and wounded. Captain Vogli was given the official Nation’s Fallen title, and his funeral will be held at the Nation’s Fallen Cemetery in Tirana. As of press time, his body had not yet returned to Albania.
Political reactions
President Bamir Topi and Prime Minister Sali Berisha strongly condemned the attack, asked for the perpetrators to be punished and expressed determination that Albania would continue its mission in Afghanistan. Albanian political leaders were unanimous in their praise of the work Albanian soldiers are doing in Afghanistan.
“The professionalism and bravery of our soldiers makes us all proud ŠThey are in selfless mission,” President Topi said in a phone call with the commander of Albanian forces in Afghanistan. He also called the shooting “a grave act of terrorism”
President Topi assured the Albanian troops they “enjoy the full support of the Albanian people.”
Prime Minister Berisha sent a message of condolence to the family of the fallen officer. “His soul will rest on the altar of freedom of the Albanian and Afghan nations for which sacrificed his life,” Mr. Berisha said.
In a telephone conversation with ISAF commander U.S. Gen. John Allen, Mr. Berisha said the perpetrators of the attack should be punished. “Albanian soldiers will successfully follow all the obligations of their historic mission,” said Mr. Berisha. “Albania is determined to give its contribution to this mission.”
Opposition leader Edi Rama also expressed his condolences. “This is a tragedy not only for the families of two Albanian soldiers, but for all of us,” Mr. Rama said. “It is one more very strong reason for Albania to continueeven more decisively its battle side by side with the United States with all NATO forces against the fascism of this century in Afghanistan and elsewhere.”
No debate over mission
Support for NATO among Albanians is very high. A recent study by the Albanian Institute for International Studies shows Albanians maintain almost the same support for the alliance and its operations as when Albania joined the alliance two years ago. However, despite this strong support, Albania had never before been tested with the death of its solders.
So far there has been no credible or influential political party, organization or individuals to come out openly against sending troops abroad. NATO has many members that have been part of the alliance since its founding that debate troop participation in foreign missions vigorously, but in Albania such debate is missing.
Former Albanian President Alfred Moisiu, a retired general who was a leading figure in Albania’s efforts to join NATO, told the local media Albania has no reason to think about withdrawing from Afghanistan. “We are engaged in this as a NATO members. Those who have withdrawn have been wrong to do so,” Mr. Moisiu told Top Channel television.
Shooting part of a negative trend
The Feb. 20 shooting occurred in the village of Robat, in the southern district of Spin Boldak near the Pakistani border. The shootings appeared to be the latest in a growing number of attacks by Afghan police or army soldiers on foreign forces, a trend that has raised concerns about the vetting of Afghan recruits and threatened the international military commitment to the country. Last month, France suspended its training program and warned it may withdraw its forces a year ahead of schedule after an Afghan soldier shot and killed four French soldiers.
There have been more than 45 attacks on international troops by members of the Afghan army or police since 2007, more than 75 percent of those in the last two years, according to data from the Pentagon.
