More than two dozen peacekeepers from NATO’s Kosovo mission were injured on May 29 in clashes with ethnic Serb protesters who were blockading a local municipal building in the northern town of Zvecan, the force said.

The KFOR mission said in a statement on Monday that 25 members of its contingent were injured when protesters attacked them with incendiary devices during violent demonstrations in Zvecan.

KFOR had deployed additional personnel in four municipalities in northern Kosovo after ethnic Serb protesters tried to take over a municipal building in which ethnic Albanian mayors were trying to take office last week.

The April mayoral election had been largely boycotted by Serbs, who make up the majority of the population in parts of northern Kosovo.

NATO on Monday called for an immediate end to the violence and said “KFOR will take all necessary actions to maintain a safe and secure environment, and continue to act impartially, in accordance with its mandate under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of 1999.”

Serbian President Aleksandr Vucic has vowed to protect ethnic Serbs in Kosovo. Vucic was set to meet on Tuesday with the Russian and Chinese envoys to Serbia. Credit: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty via Storyful