NO ENTRY: Peacekeepers using barbed wire to secure Kosovo's northern border on Tuesday, to keep out Serbian militants. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

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For three days, Kosovo's Serbs have vented their anger by destroying UN and Nato property, setting off small bombs and staging rallies. In Jarnije and Brnjak, protesters used plastic explosives and bulldozers to wreck border checkpoint posts and tipped over sheds housing United Nations' Customs service offices.

They also attacked passport control booths and UN border patrol vehicles.

Serbs planned more protests yesterday to express their anger at the swift recognition of Kosovo's independence by world powers, including the United States, Britain, France - and now Germany.

Yesterday, London appointed Mr David Blunt as its ambassador to Kosovo, formalising diplomatic ties three days after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia.

In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet yesterday approved recognition of Kosovo as an independent state, a German official said. President Horst Koehler is preparing a letter opening diplomatic ties.

Meanwhile, Nato troops sealed off the northern border, concerned that Serbian militants could cross over to fight in Kosovo.

Only a tiny fraction of Kosovo's two million people are Serbs. More than 90 per cent are ethnic Albanians.

Kosovo has not been under Belgrade's control since 1999, but Serbia refuses to give it up.

Kosovo's unilateral declaration was widely expected after internationally mediated talks between the two sides failed last year.

But some nations - including Russia, China and Spain - back Serbia in rejecting the move as a violation of international law.

In Vienna, a Serbian defence official reiterated that Serbia would not use force to retake Kosovo. But he warned ethnic Albanians against 'provocations'.

'What we fear most are armed Albanian groups operating within the region,' Assistant Defence Minister Dusan Spasojevic said.

China said yesterday it would send 18 peacekeepers to Kosovo next week, despite its opposition to Kosovo's independence.

The European Union yesterday formally launched its mission in Kosovo, which is expected to help the new nation build its police force and judiciary - a decision that Russia criticised sharply.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said there was no legal basis for the EU plan and that the mission - which will replace the current UN administration - must be approved by the UN Security Council.

Kosovo's Serbs said they will see the EU mission as an 'occupying force' if it deploys in northern Kosovo.

ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS