Two NATO soldiers were shot and wounded in clashes with Serbs on Monday, November 28, after the peacekeepers fired rubber bullets and water canons and used heavy machinery to remove trucks and buses that were being used to block a main road in Kosovo's ethnically tense north, an official said.

One soldier was shot in the shoulder and the other in the leg, said NATO spokesman Maj. Dan Harvey.

At least two injured Serb demonstrators were carried by medical workers to a nearby hospital, an AP reporter at the scene said.

In addition to the rubber bullets and water canons, the German and Austrian peacekeepers fired tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the crowd of Serb protesters trying to stop the soldiers from removing the roadblock.

Harvey said the soldiers are now instructed to fire live if they come under attack, The Associated Press reported.

For months Serbs have used soil, rock and concrete barriers to block any such move but NATO has threatened to remove them because it cut off land supply to a military base in the north.

The Serbs fear the removal of the roadblock will pave the way for Kosovo authorities to extend their authority in the Serb-dominated northern area and blame NATO for helping ethnic Albanian institutions in their plan.

Tensions in Kosovo's north rose over the summer when Kosovo authorities ordered special police units to set up customs on two border crossings with Serbia. Serbs responded by setting one of them on fire and blocking roads.