Kassel, Germany - A reduction in the tally of peacekeepers in Kosovo is conceivable since the region has been calm for months, the officer commanding the German contingent said in an interview Thursday.

Ethnic Albanian dominated Kosovo, which declared independence early last year, is being secured by 16,000 soldiers of the KFOR peacekeeping force, 2,200 of them Germans commanded by Brigadier-General Harald Fugger.

Interviewed by Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, Fugger described the situation in Kosovo as stable.

"There are always little incidents," he said, but added Kosovo was no more dangerous than tough German inner cities were.

"In a very small area, five different religions and many ethnic groups have to co-exist, but there are still no major problems."

He said the German sector in the south of Kosovo was very calm, and Western military officials told him the other four sectors of Kosovo were similarly calm.

"Obviously the Serbs in the north of Kosovo keep testing how committed the Kosovars are to independence and how our troops are likely to react. But those are just small provocations which don't seriously imperil peace," he said.

Referring to a clash that led to one death in Mitrovica in March, he said, "it should never have developed. But it was the first incident in four years and nothing like it has happened again since."

He said the NATO soldiers serving in KFOR remained respected, even among elements of the Serbs.

"They all give us a friendly wave," he said.

Fugger said a reduction in the force size was conceivable.

"We realize that the situation is so calm precisely because we are here. That is why the KFOR mission must remain in place," he said.

"But I obviously do ask myself if one could not do without some of the soldiers here or there."

"We review our efficiency day by day and know by now how we could do the job with fewer soldiers if we had to," he said. "Ultimately this is up to politicians of the NATO countries to decide." (dpa)