KFOR Commander, German General Erhard Drews, said in Podujevo (KiM) on Tuesday that additional 700 NATO soldiers are expected to arrive in Kosovo by Friday, but refused to specify why and where they would be deployed.

KFOR Spokesman Uwe Nowitzki also confirmed the arrival of the troops, in a written statement for Tanjug earlier today. "The second battalion of the Operational Reserve Force has been activated and will deploy to Kosovo shortly," the statement reads.

Vienna and Berlin previously said they would deploy additional KFOR troops to Kosovo ahead of the elections, from the Operational Reserve Force, composed of Austrian and German soldiers.

According to the announcement, the troops will be stationed at points in the city of Kosovska Mitrovica and Albanian villages in the municipalities of Zvecan and Zubin Potok, where local elections are planned to be held.

A total of 550 German and 150 Austrian soldiers should be deployed at the lines dividing the two ethnic communities in northern Kosovo.