NATO has announced that 700 more troops will be sent to northern Kosovo to help quell violent protests after clashes with ethnic Serbs left 30 NATO soldiers wounded. Amid fear of a renewed 1998-99 succession conflict, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said a reserve battalion would be put on high alert in case additional troops are needed. The NATO peacekeeping mission currently consists of almost 3,800 troops.

A statement issued Tuesday by the mission said 30 soldiers — 11 Italians and 19 Hungarians — were hurt, including fractures and burns from improvised explosive incendiary devices. Three Hungarian soldiers were “wounded by the use of firearms,” but their injuries were not life-threatening.

In response to the confrontation last week, Serbia insisted that both ethnic Albanian mayors and Kosovo police must leave northern Kosovo. Serbia put the country’s military on the highest state of alert and sent more troops to the border with Kosovo. The Kosovar Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, said the mayors elected on April 23 “are the only ones who have the legitimacy to be at the municipal buildings and to the citizens’ service.” 

The conflict in Kosovo erupted in 1998 when separatist ethnic Albanians rebelled against Serbia’s rule, and Serbia responded with a brutal crackdown. NATO’s military intervention in 1999 eventually forced Serbia to pull out of the territory and paved the way for the establishment of the peacekeeping mission. The United States and most European Union nations have recognized Kosovo’s independence from Serbia, while Russia and China have sided with Belgrade. Russian President Vladimir Putin often has cited the “precedent” of NATO bombardment of Serbia in 1999 to justify his unlawful annexation of parts of Ukraine.

Stoltenberg has urged both sides to refrain from further irresponsible behaviour and to return to EU-backed talks on improving relations. Both Serbia and Kosovo must normalise relations if they are to make any progress toward joining the bloc.