NATO to send 700 more troops to Kosovo

STORY: Unrest in the region has intensified since ethnic Albanian mayors took office in the country's northern Serb-majority area after votes last month.

Some 30 NATO peacekeeping soldiers defending three town halls in northern Kosovo were injured in clashes with Serb protesters on Monday. Fifty-two protesters were wounded.

NATO already has some 4,000 soldiers currently in Kosovo and Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the decision had been made to send more.

"We have decided to deploy 700 more troops from the operational reserve force for western Balkans and to put an additional battalion of reserve forces on high alertness so they can also be deployed if needed," he told reporters in Oslo.

The United States and allies have rebuked Kosovo for escalating tensions with Serbia, saying the use of force to install mayors in ethnic Serb areas undermined efforts to improve troubled relations with neighboring Serbia.