Kosovo Refugee Exodus Awaited

By Veselin Toshkov
Associated Press Writer
Saturday, April 17, 1999; 4:27 a.m. EDT

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) -- Thousands of refugees were on the
move today in Yugoslavia, as Serb forces appeared to be making a final
push to clear Kosovo of its ethnic Albanian population amid NATO
airstrikes against Yugoslavia.

At least 5,000 refugees crossed into Macedonia on Friday, and 10,000
arrived in Albania. Ron Redmont, a spokesman for the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees, said an enormous new wave -- more than
100,000 refugees -- was believed bound for Macedonia.

In Kukes, northern Albania, Jacques Franquin of the U.N. refugee agency
said 5,000 refugees had come across the Morini border checkpoint since
midnight. ``It's terrible, it's a big problem,'' he said.

Refugees braved strong winds and driving rain on their trek as lightning
flashed and thunder crashed.

The Yugoslav capital, Belgrade, remained under air-raid alert from late
Friday until early today. Sirens in other cities across Serbia also warned of
a 24th night of NATO attacks.

An industrial plant in Valjevo in central Serbia was hit by four missiles
early today, causing serious damage to the surrounding residential area,
Serb media reported.

Meanwhile, NATO's supreme commander in Europe, U.S. Gen. Wesley
Clark, was scheduled to travel from Skopje, Macedonia, to the Albanian
capital, Tirana, for talks with government officials, sources in both capitals
said.

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic launched a crackdown on ethnic
Albanian separatists 14 months ago in Kosovo, a conflict that has killed
thousands and left tens of thousands homeless. NATO began bombing
Yugoslavia on March 24 after he refused to sign a peace accord for the
province.

Kosovo is a province in the republic of Serbia which, along with
Montenegro, makes up the Yugoslav federation.

In Washington, U.S. Defense officials said a Yugoslav army officer
captured by the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army inside Yugoslavia was
delivered to American custody on Friday.

The officer was seized earlier this week, turned over to the government of
neighboring Albania, then to U.S. authorities, the statement said. It was
the first capture of a Yugoslav soldiers since NATO began bombing.

Yugoslav authorities are holding three Americans soldiers captured along
the Macedonian border.

Along the tense Yugoslav-Albanian border, Albanian and Serb forces
exchanged fire for five hours Friday, Albania's interior ministry said in a
statement.

The area has long been the scene of fighting between Yugoslav forces and
the KLA, which uses northern Albania as a staging ground. But Albanian
regular army troops have increasingly been drawn into the conflict,
particularly when Yugoslav troops have tried to chase rebel fighters into
Albanian territory.

The Albanian statement on the clash, near the northern hamlet of Bajram
Curri, said Serb forces ``tried to enter our territory'' but were pushed
back. No injuries were reported.

International monitors also reported new Serb shelling Friday morning
near border crossings crammed with refugees. Shellfire was heard
overnight Friday near Macedonia's Jazince crossing.

Despite foul weather, NATO warplanes late Friday struck Slatina, the
main Kosovo airport just outside the capital, Pristina, the state-run Tanjug
news agency said. It was the fifth attack on the airport.

Also targeted in evening strikes was Mt. Butovac northeast of Pristina,
and Mt. Goles and the Lipljan municipality south of the city, Tanjug said.
NATO has been targeting mountaintop transmitters.

Seeking to telegraph willingness to arrive at a negotiated settlement with
ethnic Albanians, Yugoslavia brought ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim
Rugova to Belgrade for a meeting with Serbian President Milan
Milutinovic and Yugoslav deputy prime minister Nikola Sajnovic.

Rugova, who has reportedly been under house arrest in Pristina, did not
appear before reporters afterward, but Yugoslav authorities faxed a
statement to news organizations saying both sides had agreed that a halt to
bombings was essential before they could begin working out a political
settlement.

Also Friday, Yugoslavia rejected the key element of U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Kosovo initiative Friday, saying the
deployment of an international military force in Yugoslavia was
unacceptable.

© Copyright 1999 The Associated Press