On 12 Jan 2008, a military helicopter carrying troops home from the EUFOR peace-keeping mission in BiH crashed near its final destination of Skopje, killing all 11 personnel on board. Those personnel were from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*. Ten years later EUFOR Chief of Staff and EUFOR personnel joined the Deputy Minister of Defence as well as dignitaries and military personnel from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, to remember the lives lost in the tragedy.
Current EUFOR personnel formed a Guard of Honour next to the Memorial Stone, and the Deputy Minister of Defence of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Mr Bekim Maksuti, gave a speech in which he said: "We have never experienced such as tragic loss of our security forces, who stood shoulder to shoulder with other peacekeepers. They represented Macedonia's contribution to lasting peace and security in our region".
Mr Maksuti and EUFOR COS were joined by other dignitaries in paying their respects and laying floral tributes: Brigadier General Pavle Arsovski, the Deputy Chief of Joint Operations Command; Mr Aleksandar Krstevski, Chargé d'Affaires a.i. at the Embassy of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in Sarajevo; and Colonel Donce Kuzmanov, Military Attaché for BiH and Montenegro also took part in lighting 11 candles for the 11 lives lost.
The country's contribution to security in the region continues: the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is one of five 'partner nations' who join their EU colleagues in Operation ALTHEA, the European Union Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina supporting its safe and secure environment.