The Multinational Specialized Unit (MSU), is a unit of the Italian

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...

, dedicated to the military missions abroad, including the military and civilian police tasks, peacekeeping operations, crowd and riot control. After its creation in 1998, MSU units took part in many different

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 ...

operations, in

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 ...

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 ...

Bosnia Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

History

Initially it has employed members of the 7th Carabinieri Regiment "''Trentino-Alto Adige''", the 13th Carabinieri Regiment "''Friuli-Venezia Giulia''" and the 1st Parachute Carabinieri Regiment "''Tuscania''". During the next years it has employed members from all over

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, from every other

units.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The first mission where MSU was involved was the

SFOR The Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian war. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. It ...

, in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

during the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...

. MSU was composed by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and members of the

Romanian Military Police The Romanian Military Police ( ro, Poliția Militară) is the military police of the Romanian Armed Forces. It was formed in 1990, immediately after the Romanian Revolution, although the Romanian Gendarmerie (also re-established in 1990) performe ...

, among soldiers of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

Albania

After the tension in the Balkan area, during the

, in particular in the northern part of

a MSU detachment was deployed in

during

Operation Allied Harbor Operation Allied Harbor was NATO's first humanitarian operation. In the case of the Kosovo crisis, by the end of March 1999 these agencies were unable to cope with the massive influx of refugees into Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ) ...

, to aid the country in the refugees management. The mission was codenamed ''AFOR''.

Iraq

MILITAR DIN BATALIONUL 265 POLITIE MILITARA IN IRAK

During the

Mission, inside the

Multi-National Force – Iraq The Multi-National Force – Iraq (MNF–I), often referred to as the Coalition forces, was a military command during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and much of the ensuing Iraq War, led by the United States of America ( Operation Iraqi Freedom), Unite ...

, MSU was deployed alongside other Italians units. The Italian Mission codename was

Operation Ancient Babylon Operation Ancient Babylon ( it, Operazione Antica Babilonia) was the code name given to the deployment of Italian forces during the Iraq War. Their mission lasted from 15 July 2003 to 1 December 2006. The troops were located in and around Nasiri ...

. MSU was composed by

Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

liaison officers, members of

and

Portuguese National Republican Guard The National Republican Guard ( pt, Guarda Nacional Republicana) or GNR is the national gendarmerie force of Portugal. Members of the GNR are military personnel, subject to military law and organisation, unlike the agents of the civilian Publi ...

. During the mission MSU suffered heavy losses, in particular for the 2003 Nasiriyah bombing.

MSU-IRAQ Commanders

*Col. Georg Di Pauli (June-november 2003) *Col. Carmelo Burgio (november 2003-march 2004) *Col. Luciano Zubani (2004) * Col. Claudio D'Angelo (2004) *Col. Paolo Nardone (2004-2005) *Col. Sebastiano Comitini (2005-2006) *...

Kosovo

Since 1999, after the

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 United Nations Security Council resolution 1244, adopted on 10 June 1999, after recalling resolutions 1160 (1998), 1199 (1998), 1203 (1998) and 1239 (1999), authorised an international civil and military presence in the Federal Republic of Y ...

, MSU has been deployed into

for peacekeeping operations within

- KFOR. After years it's still present in the theatre, contributing to maintain peace and stability in the country. MSU Mitrovica Manbox - Ibar Bridge summer 2019

MSU Mitrovica Manbox - Ibar Bridge summer 2019

From 1999 to 2013 the French

National Gendarmerie The National Gendarmerie (french: Gendarmerie nationale, ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Mini ...

, Estonian Military Police and Austrian Military Police were also part of the MSU. Since 2013 it is composed entirely of the

and its main mission is to patrol the entire city of Mitrovica 24/7, in particular the Ibar Bridge. The KFOR-MSU Regiment was commanded by

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Ruggiero Capodivento. It is now led by Colonel Stefano Fedele.Kfor - MSU Com 2021
/ref>

KFOR-MSU Commanders

KFOR-MSU Vehicles

* Land Rover Defender 90 * Land Rover Defender 110 * Land Rover Defender Ambulance * Fiat Ducato Ambulance *

Land Rover Discovery Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various isla ...

series II and IV *

Mitsubishi Pajero The Further information on the Mitsubishi P ...

* Iveco ACM 80/90 * Iveco C-17 * Iveco Daily * VM90P * Iveco RG-12 *

Iveco LMV Iveco LMV (Light Multirole Vehicle) is a 4WD tactical vehicle developed by Iveco, and in service with several countries. After its adoption by the Italian Army as the ''Veicolo-Tattico-Leggero-Multiruolo'' (VTLM) ''Lince'' ("Light tactical multi ...

References

External links

{{commons category, MSU_Carabinieri Units and formations of the Carabinieri Military units and formations established in 1998 Military units and formations of NATO Kosovo War NATO-led peacekeeping in the former Yugoslavia