NATO deploys 700 more troops to Kosovo after clashes, EU urges calm

NATO on Tuesday said it was deploying more forces to northern Kosovo, after 30 of its peacekeepers were hurt in clashes with ethnic Serb protestors. The European Union called for urgent de-escalation.

The commander of the Allied Force Command in Naples, Admiral Stuart Munsch, said the “prudent measure” to deploy an extra 700 troops was meant to “ensure that KFOR (the NATO-led Kosovo Force) has the capabilities it needs to maintain security.”

An extra multinational battalion of reserve forces had also been put on notice to be ready to reinforce KFOR if necessary, AFP reported.

The situation in the northern Kosovo town of Zvecan remained tense with ethnic Serbs gathering outside the town hall, that a crowd had tried to storm the day before. They eventually dispersed but vowed to rally again the next morning. 

"We, as citizens of municipalities with a Serb majority, do not want tensions, but peace. It clearly suits someone else to create chaos and bring unrest to our area," local Serb official Srdjan Milosavljevic told reporters.

On Monday, Kosovo police repelled them with tear gas, before the NATO-led peacekeepers intervened. The soldiers at first tried to separate protesters from the police, but later tried to disperse the crowd using shields and batons. 

Several protesters responded by hurling rocks, bottles, and Molotov cocktails at the soldiers.

Many Serbs demanded the withdrawal of Kosovo police forces, as well as the ethnic Albanian mayors they do not consider their true representatives. They also demanded that protesters, arrested for clashing with KFOR soldiers, would be released.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell urged the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia to immediately de-escalate tensions, saying the clashes were "absolutely unacceptable.”

He added that he spoke to Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Alexander Vucic to tell them to avoid any "further unilateral action.”