An additional 700 NATO troops will be sent to northern Kosovo to help quell violent protests after clashes with ethnic Serbs there left 30 international soldiers wounded.
Key points:

  • The announcement comes a day after 30 NATO soldiers were hurt in clashes
  • Unrest has intensified since ethnic Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo's Serb-majority area
  • Mr Stoltenberg condemned the violence, urging both sides to take steps to de-escalate the unrest



"We have decided to deploy 700 more troops from the operational reserve force for Western Balkans," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Oslo.
He said NATO would also "put an additional battalion of reserve forces on high readiness so they can also be deployed if needed. These are prudent steps".
A battalion typically ranges from 300 to around 1,000 troops.
The NATO-led peacekeeping mission, KFOR, currently consists of almost 3,800 troops.

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