On May 29, KFOR separated protesting ethnic Serbs from ethnic Albanians inside Mitrovica town hall amid clashes following a Serb boycott of polls in the north that allowed ethnic Albanians to take control of local councils.

"It was very violent but I think that the intervention of KFOR was crucial because we avoided clashes and the contact between the two parties," said Captain Davide Inglese, a company commander who was present during the clashes.

"I was thinking only about my soldiers, I was thinking only about my task," which was to "maintain security", he said.

KFOR personnel in helicopters and in armoured road vehicles on Tuesday conducted regular monitoring operations in Mitrovica, an ethnic Serb-majority city in the north, and the surrounding region. Media including AFP were invited to observe.

The situation appeared calm -- in contrast to the May clashes in which rioting ethnic Serbs hurled Molotov cocktails, rocks and bottles.

The violence was the worst encountered by KFOR since 2004, its chiefs say, and it led NATO to bring in an extra 500 Turkish troops to bolster the peacekeeping force.

- 'Our protection' -

The EU and the United States are urging both sides to de-escalate the situation, but Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti rebuffed EU calls for them to meet in Brussels this week.

The detention by Serbia last week of three Kosovo police officers further raised the stakes after weeks of tension between the two sides over disputed elections in Serb-majority northern Kosovo.

Kosovo's ethnic Serb minority boycotted the local polls in the north in April, allowing ethnic Albanians to take control of the local councils despite a tiny turnout of less than 3.5 percent.

Inglese said that, after the May 29 riots, he had spoken with both sides on the ground in Mitrovica.

"They want peace, they want our protection," he said. "They want impartiality between the two parts and we are here for that."

Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia have persisted since a war in the late 1990s that drew NATO intervention against Belgrade.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade has refused to recognise it.

Serbs in Kosovo remain largely loyal to Belgrade, especially in the north, where they make up a majority and reject every move by Pristina to consolidate its control over the region.

Serbia has long seen Kosovo as its spiritual and historical homeland, the scene of pivotal battles over the centuries. It continues to host some of the Serbian Orthodox Church's most revered monasteries.