KFOR took control of and assumed responsibility for the border crossings of Jarinje and Brnjak, the NATO-led force said in a statement. This news was confirmed by the Kosovo government.

The border crossing Jarinje was quiet on Thursday after two days of violence in Kosovo's Serbian-populated north in which one ethnic Albanian policeman died and a border crossing was set on fire by hardline

Serbian nationalists. The border post was in flames on Wednesday evening after it was set on fire by a group of masked Serb youths.

The troubles in Kosovo, which has a 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority, started after Pristina sent special police units on Monday to take control of northern border crossings and enforce a ban on imports from Serbia - in retaliation for its block on Kosovo's exports.

Serbia's President Boris Tadic urged Kosovo Serbs to refrain from violence. "The hooligans who are sparking violence are not defending either the people or the Serb state," his office said in a statement.

At a news conference on Wednesday evening, Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci accused Belgrade of masterminding the violence.

Serbia has asked for a UN Security Council meeting to discuss Pristina's retaking control of the border posts in the Serb-controlled north, in a bid to enforce a ban on Serb products in retaliation for a Serbian blockade of Kosovo exports.

The UN Security Council on Wednesday accepted a Serbian request for urgent closed-door consultations on Kosovo.

France on Thursday condemned violence in northern Kosovo and called for restoring calm immediately.