AT A GLANCE
- More than 15,000 refugees swept into northern Albania over
the weekend, saying Serbian forces have mounted a new wave of ethnic cleansing in western
Kosovo.
- A total of 220 people crossed the border into the FYR of
Macedonia on Sunday; arrivals down to a trickle despite assurances by the Skopje
government that the borders will be open to refugees.
- Departures under the humanitarian evacuation program in the
FYR of Macedonia Sunday were 1,015, bringing the total to about 36,000.
- The estimated number of refugees and displaced people has
reached more than 745,000, including 241,000 in the FYR of Macedonia, 422,000 in Albania
and 63,000 in Montenegro.
Major Developments
ALBANIA
In a daylong procession of dozens of tractor trailers, a
total of 7,677 people crossed the Morini border into Albania Sunday.
It was a virtual repeat performance of Saturday when more
than 8,000 fled to safety.
On both days, the bulk of the arrivals were from villages
around the Pec area in western Kosovo, and Istok to the northeast.
Most of the arrivals Sunday appeared to be part of the
same group of refugees who had arrived Saturday and had been forced out of the region by a
large-scale Serbian offensive to clear the region. Many of the refugees had fled from
their original villages and spent anywhere from one week to one month in the surrounding
mountainous countryside.
Some reported they had not eaten anything substantial for
three days and food was running low everywhere though there were few signs of any serious
malnutrition among the latest arrivals.
The refugees Sunday told consistent stories of houses
being torched and men being taken – either singly or in small groups from tractors
fleeing the region, or in larger groups from villages in the area. Refugees said these
groups varied in size from 20-30 to up to 200.
A village called Zac, several kilometers from Istok, was
repeatedly mentioned by arriving refugees who said many men, perhaps several hundred, had
been taken there by Serbian forces. Pistols and other small arms were brandished in the
faces of people, including young children, during the operation and several people had
been killed in three days of fighting. In a new twist, some refugees said women were
insisting on staying behind in the village when the men were separated out.
Though the evidence of abductions appeared overwhelming,
the exact numbers of people taken could not be independently verified and neither could
specific reports of killings and executions.
One middle aged man said his 85-year-old sick mother had
been executed Friday in front of him in the village of Saradran (Trstenik) in the Pec
area. He had been separated from the rest of his family and wandered aimlessly around the
Morini crossing, waiting to be reunited with them. He said he had personally seen the
bodies of four other villagers who were executed in the basement of their home.
Several refugees reported that between eight and 30 people
had been killed in a village called Trbuhovc near Istok during Serbian clearing operations
and many men had been taken away.
These witnesses said people from several nearby villages
had been herded together in this village before they finally left for the border.
Refugees said Serbian forces bombarded the Pec area on
Friday and launched a comprehensive "sweep" of the entire region, flushing
civilians out of the hills and out of the villages.
Witnesses said in the village of Djurakovac near Istok as
many as 300 men had been seized and marched away. In the village of Starodvorane, up to
100 men could have been taken off tractors. In Labljane near Pec, another 50 young men
were reported taken. In a village called Saradranit, some refugees reported
"hundreds" of men crowded into a school after being separated from their
families.
Field officials said it was clear that many men, dozens
and possibly several hundred had been seized, but the individual numbers could not be
confirmed independently.
Some refugees also reported seeing individual atrocities.
Several said in the village of Nabrdje near Pec they had seen three brothers taken from
their home and killed on May 1. Their bodies and home were subsequently burned. Others
said as many as 20 people had been killed in the village.
Refugees from Djakovica reported heavy "street"
fighting in the heart of that town Friday and lighter fighting Saturday. They said the
fighting – apparently between elements of the Kosovo Liberation Army and Serbian
forces – included individual street fighting and not only long distance small arms
exchanges. As they left the town they said many buildings were ablaze.
Several refugees said they had seen scattered bodies in
the streets of the town.
One arrival from Prizren Friday said he had worked in the
local hospital. He was ordered back to work by the Serbian authorities but when he turned
up, he was arrested and sent to the border. He said several nights earlier a total of 116
bodies had been admitted to the hospital morgue and a week ago a total of 97 bodies were
admitted, including 23 women and children.
FYR of MACEDONIA
On Sunday, 220 people crossed into the FYR of Macedonia
from Kosovo. Most of them had travel documents.
Since Wednesday, only a handful of people have arrived in
the FYR of Macedonia. Macedonian officials on Thursday gave UNHCR assurances that refugees
from Kosovo will be allowed into the country.
On Monday, officials were preparing to transport some 90
refugees who had volunteered to move from camps in the FYR of Macedonia to Albania. There,
facilities for 6,000 people had been prepared for refugees in the FYR of Macedonia who
will want to move out of its overcrowded camps.
HUMANITARIAN EVACUATION PROGRAM
A total of 1,015 refugees departed on Sunday under the
humanitarian evacuation program from the FYR of Macedonia to third countries, including
261 to Canada, 282 to Italy, 167 to Portugal, 305 to the United Kingdom.
Some 36,000 refugees have departed under the program in
which UNHCR has received offers for 135,000 places in 39 countries.
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Document compiled by Dr S D Stein