Troops from Colchester are going to Bosnia to spend six months as peacekeepers in the war-torn country.

Almost 200 soldiers from 28/143 Battery, 19 Regiment Royal Artillery will serve with the Nato stabilisation force (SFOR) in Sanskimost in central Bosnia and Banja Luka.

They will provide artillery support to the 20,000 strong SFOR contingent which includes 3,300 British troops.

The operation is the first of its kind for the regiment since it took delivery of the tank-like AS90 in May.

Six AS90s, which each take five crew, are already on their way to the Balkans by ship.

Battery commander Major Andy Southby said: "We have been training hard over the past few months and are now looking forward to getting out there."

Bombardier James Fraser, 26, served in Bosnia in 1995 when the conflict was at its height.

He said: "I lived for four months in a gun pit and we fired our guns from Mount Igman in Bosnia - they were anxious times. But now we are going into a more stable environment and I am looking forward to seeing how the situation has changed.

"On patrol we can talk to the locals - they have got used to SFOR troops in their country and are generally supportive of our presence."

Bdr Fraser will be leaving his wife Natalie and two-week-old baby James behind.

"Obviously it is going to be hard without them for so long, but we will cope," he said. Gunner Scott Wooldridge, 20, is going to Bosnia for the first time.

He said: "My only other operational tour was to Cyprus in 1998. The weather was superb, but Bosnia at the moment is covered in snow.

"But this will be good experience for me and I am looking forward to working in a country that's different to any place I've been before."

The troops are due to fly out to Bosnia from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

Ready for action - Bombardier James Fraser of 19 Regiment Royal Artillery with a new AS90 gun before heading for Bosnia.

Picture: STEVE ARGENT

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