Operation Allied Harbor was

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

's first humanitarian operation. In the case of the

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...

, by the end of March 1999 these agencies were unable to cope with the massive influx of refugees into

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. Within a fortnight over 200,000 refugees had arrived from Kosovo and NATO was the only organisation quickly able to meet the expanding need. HQ ACE Mobile Force (Land) was deployed within five days. Military personnel and staff set to work within twenty four hours of arrival, and within a few weeks, working closely with the civilian sector and the Albanian Government. By 15 June 1999 there were 479,223 refugees in the country. But the provision by NATO of medical, engineer, transport, security and staff support prevented Slobodan Milošević from destabilising Albania and proved instrumental in sustaining the refugees and in their eventual return to Kosovo.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allied Harbor, Operation Kosovo War NATO-led peacekeeping in the former Yugoslavia