NATO Headquarters Sarajevo (NHQ-S)
- Duration
- 21 February 2004 - to date
- Military personnel
- 31
- Fatalities
- none
- Decorations
- none
The NATO-led stabilisation force, SFOR, in Bosnia and Herzegovina came to an end in December 2004. NATO kept a small headquarters in Sarajevo in the same building as the headquarters of the EUFOR peace force.
In order to ensure that they did not get in each other’s way in the course of the work, the tasks were divided between them. EUFOR is mandated in Security Council resolution 1575 of 22 November 2004. The mandate for the NATO headquarters derived from a letter from the Bosnian government to the Security Council, in which both EUFOR and NHQ-S are regarded as the legal successor to SFOR.
Restructuring the Bosnian defence system
NHQ-S, as the headquarters became known, concentrated on the restructuring of the Bosnian defence system. NATO also remained responsible for tracing and detaining suspected war criminals and for antiterrorist activities. EUFOR provided force protection for the NATO troops where necessary. Both headquarters also shared the intelligence they gathered.