NATO forces operating in the Balkans are introducing a form of transport that they have found is better at navigating treacherous mountain passes than the high-tech vehicles favored by modern armies — a breed of mules from southern Spain.
The German army has identified mules from the Murcia region as the perfect answer to their problems on peacekeeping missions in areas where even tracked vehicles cannot go.
They bought several mules to test last year and decided they were up to the task.
“Their use will be for transporting pieces of heavy military weapons in mountainous areas and for peace and humanitarian missions being carried out by European armies in difficult terrain,” explained Angel Garcia Lidon, of the Murcian regional government’s agriculture department.
The mules were due to go into training in Bavaria before joining the NATO mission to Kosovo.
The animals are only 1.5m tall, making it easy for soldiers to lift heavy loads on and off their backs. They can carry 200kg each and refuel on grass, hay or anything they find to eat along the way.
The Murcian mule, which used to be a favorite for mule trains and plowing, has all but disappeared from the Spanish countryside. A handful of farmers still breed them, though they admit this is mainly out of nostalgia for an animal that was once a key part of the local economy.
“One is sad that they are going because we have bred and raised them here,” said Antonio Ruiz, 58, who breeds them on his farm near the southeastern city of Lorca.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS