Belgrade approves U.N. humanitarian mission

UNITED NATIONS, May 6 (Reuters) - Belgrade approved on Thursday a humanitarian mission Secretary-General Kofi Annan wants to send to Kosovo and other parts of Yugoslavia, the United Nations announced.

Sergio Vieira De Mello, the undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said in a statement that he received the news from Yugoslavia's U.N. envoy Vladislav Jovanovic "confirming that his government would facilitate the conduct of the mission."

U.N. relief agencies have not been in Yugoslavia since the NATO air strikes began on March 24. U.N. officials said an advance team of about five people would leave for Belgrade immediately to make arrangements and another team of about 15 would follow in one or two weeks.

Annan on Tuesday SAID he planned to send a U.N. mission to "assess the situation on the ground, determine the magnitude of the problem and what we need to do to prepare the ground for the refugees to go back to Kosovo."

He also said he had not asked for a pause or lull in the NATO bombing while the team was in the country but indicated some arrangements might be made.

Noting that Greek non-governmental organizations were already operating in Kosovo, Annan said: "They obviously worked it out with the Yugoslav authorities and with NATO to be able to go in and out and do their work."