During the 1990s, ethnic unrest was growing throughout Kosovo an autonomous province of Yugoslavia.

Serbian forces began a campaign of oppression targeting Albanian settlements until, by 1998, it is estimated that at least 250,000 Kosovar Albanians had suffered forced displacement from their homes.

As a response, the NATO alliance assembled a peacekeeping force, KFOR, which included over 4,000 British troops. The 2nd Battalion Royal Regiment of Fusiliers played a key role within KFOR, and on 12th June 1999, they deployed into Kosovo to help establish a secure environment and to promote stability in the region.

To this day, Serbia does not recognise Kosovo as a sovereign state and a KFOR peace implementation force is still deployed there.