NATO urges Kosovo authorities to reduce tensions after ethnic clashes

May 27 (UPI) -- NATO and Western allies on Saturday condemned actions by security forces in Kosovo after a bout of ethnic clashes and urged authorities to de-escalate tensions in several Serbian majority towns.

The unrest occurred in the towns of Zvecan, Leposavic, and Zubin Potok on Friday after recently elected ethnic Albanian mayors sought to enter municipal buildings while many Serbian majority protestors demonstrated in opposition, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.

On Saturday, top NATO officials and Western allies called on ethnic Albanian leaders to calm the situation.

"We urge the institutions in Kosovo to de-escalate immediately & call on all parties to resolve the situation through dialogue," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said in a Twitter post.

France, Italy, Germany, Britain and the United States, also known as the QUINT states, issued a joint statement condemning the actions by authorities in Kosovo.

"We condemn Kosovo's decision to force access to municipal buildings in northern Kosovo despite our call for restraint," the joint statement read. "We call on Kosovo's authorities to immediately step back and de-escalate, and to closely coordinate with EULEX and KFOR."

The ethnic Albanian mayors were sworn in on Thursday, replacing Serb mayors who had resigned last November to protest a cross-border dispute over vehicle registrations.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Friday announced that his country's military was placed on high alert after ordering troops to deploy closer to the border with Kosovo.

The QUINT states condemned the move by Vucic.

"We are concerned by Serbia's decision to raise the level of readiness of its Armed Forces at the border with Kosovo and call all parties for maximum restraint, avoiding inflammatory rhetoric," their statement said.