(LJUBLJANA) - EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana ruled out Monday any delay in deploying a 2,000-strong peace and justice mission to Kosovo in the wake of violent clashes involving UN police.

"Let me be very clear: no, the answer is no," Solana told journalists on the margins of an EU meeting in Ljubljana.

"The mission is continuing the deployment according to the calendar that has been established. Nothing for the moment has changed," he added.

More than 100 people including 33 members of the international security forces in Kosovo were hurt during clashes in the northern town of Kosovska Mitrovica on Monday, according to local police.

The UN police were forced to withdraw from the Serb-populated half of the divided town after 25 of them and eight NATO peacekeepers were wounded in grenade and gun attacks.

The Serb protestors -- many of whom worked in the judiciary before Kosovo came under UN administration in 1999 -- had occupied the courthouse since Friday to demand the establishment of their own tribunal.

Solana called on all sides to calm down.

"Violence leads nowhere, and taking up buildings leads nowhere," he said.

The first elements of the EU peace and justice mission EULEX mission began arriving in Kosovo last week.

The European Commission also appealed for calm Monday.

"We are very concerned about the tense situation in north Mitrovica. We regret the attacks against the UN police and KFOR personnel. We call for restraint," a spokesman told reporters in Brussels.

"The commission wants also to express its full support to the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, and to KFOR in maintaining order in Kosovo," he said.

"Violence is unacceptable. It is not an option. All parties should work together to build a multi-ethnic Kosovo based on the rule of law and the respect of democracy."

Kosovo, which has a majority ethnic Albanian population, unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia on February 17 and has since been recognised by many Western countries.

But Serbia and Kosovo Serbs vehemently reject the move as illegal.

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