Mitrovica: NATO-led troops in Kosovo have confronted Kosovo Serbs manning their roadblocks as tensions escalated in the volatile north of the country.
Serbs have been blocking roads to stop the country's ethnic Albanian leadership from extending its control over the part of Kosovo populated mostly by ethnic Serbs.
The Serbs reject Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia.
After Kosovo Serb leaders refused NATO's demand to allow freedom of movement, the peacekeepers in riot gear moved early Thursday against hundreds of Serbs at roadblocks consisting of parked trucks, rocks, mud and logs.
The troops occasionally use pepper spray against the demonstrators who have set down on the road some 10 kilometres (6 miles) northwest of the divided town of Mitrovica. So far, there are no major clashed.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, October 20, 2011, 13:01