A Turkish commando battalion requested by NATO arrived in Kosovo to assist in quelling recent violent unrest, reported the Associated Press agency.

The Turkish Defense Ministry shared a video showing troops wearing the insignia of the KFOR, a NATO-led peacekeeping mission, departing Turkey and arriving in Kosovo.

An unnamed official of the Turkish Defense Ministry said last week that an additional 500 Turkish troops will be sent to northern Kosovo.

NATO said last Tuesday that it will deploy 700 additional troops to Kosovo to reinforce KFOR, which currently consists of almost 3,800 troops, including some 350 from Turkey.

Tensions in northern Kosovo escalated on May 26 when Kosovo police special units occupied municipal administration buildings in Serb-majority municipalities to enable new Kosovo Albanian mayors, elected in a vote boycotted by Kosovo Serbs, to take office.

Dozens of people were injured on both sides on Monday, May 29, in clashes between the local Serbs and KFOR and Kosovo special forces.

Kosovo Serbs again assembled Monday outside the municipal administration buildings in northern Kosovo. They have had no access to the buildings since Kosovo Police special forces occupied them.

KFOR removed Monday a part of the barbed wire fence outside the Zvecan municipal administration building in northern Kosovo.

The Serbian state TV (RTS) reported that KFOR troops are still in the vicinity of the municipal administration building in Zvecan and on all access roads to Zvecan.