PRISTINA, Kosovo  -  A helicopter assigned to NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR) peacekeeping operation performed an emergency medical evacuation of a newborn baby boy from a hospital in Pristina to a hospital in Belgrade on Monday, Nov. 21.

The child was born in Gracanica with a serious heart infection that quickly spread to his lungs. KFOR first helped bring the baby to the Kosovo University Clinical Centre in Pristina, where doctors managed to stabilize the young patient. Following a request by the child's family to continue treatment at a Belgrade hospital, a U.S. helicopter MEDEVAC UH 60 of MNBG- E (Multinational Battlegroup - East) carried out the medical evacuation.

The emergency operation was made possible by the swift cooperation between the Serbian authorities and KFOR.

KFOR Joint Operations Centre (JOC) Director, Lieutenant Colonel Pasquale Lamberti, who coordinated the overall activity in KFOR, said "when the life of a child is in danger, KFOR will always be there". He also added that "the success of this event must be attributed to the entire KFOR community, which pooled together with generosity and enthusiasm".

NATO-led operation KFOR continues to contribute to a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement, working in close cooperation with the local authorities and with the European Union.

To learn more about NATO's Kosovo Force, visit their website at http://jfcnaples.nato.int/kfor