OSLO (Reuters) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday the alliance was ready to deploy more troops to Kosovo to quell violence in the ethnically divided north.

Edited by | Adam Luked - Paul Mitchel

Politics News Section

2 June 2023 - Oslo

   Stoltenberg said "The alliance will remain vigilant. We will be there to ensure safe conditions and also to de-escalate tensions," he told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Oslo.

Unrest has escalated in northern Kosovo since ethnic Albanian mayors took power in the country's Serb-majority north after elections in April that Serbs boycotted, a move that prompted a rebuke from Pristina by the United States and its allies.

NATO decided to reinforce its 4,000-strong mission in the region by sending an additional 700 troops after 30 of its troops and 52 Serb demonstrators were wounded on Monday.

Stoltenberg described the violence against NATO forces as "totally unacceptable" and said the allies were preparing more forces in case additional reinforcements needed to be sent.

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