Tadic said in a statement it was urgent to ensure peace and stability in Kosovo, calling on KFOR and EULEX to refrain "from unilateral actions and the use of force in northern Kosovo."

Tadic warned that any violent step in the removal of road barricades set up by local Serbs deepened the crisis and made a solution in northern Kosovo increasingly distant. He called on citizens to refrain from any violence and reactions to possible provocations that would warrant response by use of force.

"The provision of KFOR and its movement are obligations under the (Kumanovo agreement) and Serbia's obligations from UN Security Council Resolution 1244," Tadic said, adding that EULEX's movement was envisaged by a plan by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that was approved by the Security Council.

Tadic warned that the political representatives of Serbs in northern Kosovo should work towards finding possible and tenable solutions for the benefit of citizens.

Barricades were set up at Brnjak and Jarinje border crossings and the roads leading to them after the Kosovo government started deploying customs and police officers there on September 16. Local Serbs will not let Kosovo's authorities, which they do not recognise, control Jarinje and Brnjak on the Serbian border, forcing KFOR to use helicopters for the provision of supplies to its troops.

KFOR and EULEX started removing the barricades on Thursday morning and eight KFOR troops and more than 20 local civilians were injured in the process.

The situation in northern Kosovo is now calm but tense.