NATO has said in a statement that it had "authorised additional forces to address the current situation" in Kosovo.

NATO did not immediately specify how many additional forces or from which countries in Friday's statement.

A battle between Kosovar police and armed ethnic Serbs holed up in a monastery turned a quiet village in northern Kosovo into a war zone earlier this week.

Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008 after an uprising and 1999 NATO intervention, accuses Serbia of arming and supporting the ethnic Serb fighters.

Serbia, which has not recognised its former province's independence, blames Kosovo for precipitating violence by mistreating ethnic Serb residents.

Serbia and the main Serb political group in Kosovo have proclaimed public mourning for the Serbs killed in the battle.