Two NATO peacekeepers were shot and wounded during a clash with ethnic Serb civilians Monday in northern Kosovo.

Fighting broke out when the peacekeepers started breaking down roadblocks near the Serbian-Kosovo border.

NATO forces used rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannons against the Serbs who opened fire on the soldiers. The conditions of the two wounded soldiers are unknown.

Serbian President Boris Tadic again appealed for an urgent stop to clashes between NATO peacekeepers and Serbs. He said the situation needs to be promptly settled through talks and without violence.

The ethnic Serbs refuse to recognize Kosovo's independence and the authority of its ethnic Albanian government. The Serbs started erecting roadblocks in July, cutting off NATO access to a military base in northern Kosovo.

NATO is demanding freedom of movement throughout all of Kosovo.

Monday's fighting came two days before officials from Serbia and Kosovo meet in Brussels for European Union-brokered peace talks in Brussels.