The army was to deploy two battalions at several locations in the region bordering the UN-administered province of Kosovo, Davinic was quoted by Beta news agency as saying.

However, "there is no reason to be worried as the situation there is stable," he added.

"By such measures we only want to send a message that we are ready to respond to any security challenge," the minister said, adding that the army "is not preparing for war, but only takes precautionary measures."

The southern Serbian region, known as the Presevo valley, has a large Albanian population and was the scene of clashes from 2000 to 2001 between Serb forces and the separatist rebels of an ethnic Albanian guerrilla group, the Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac (LAPMB).

Belgrade officials say many of the former guerrilla fighters have joined a new group, the Albanian National Army (ANA), which claims it is fighting to create a greater Albania including Albanian-populated Kosovo and parts of Macedonia and southern Serbia.

Declared a "terrorist organisation" by the United Nations mission in Kosovo, the ANA claimed responsibility for a number of attacks on Serbian police and army targets last year.