Reports from the Serbian province of Kosovo say fighting has been continuing between security forces and ethnic-Albanian separatists in the town of Decani, near the border with Albania.

The area has been sealed off, but a BBC correspondent in Kosovo says that if the fighting intensifies, it could derail peace talks between the Serbian government and ethnic-Albanian politicians.

It comes as Kosovo's main Albanian leader, Ibrahim Rugova, begins a visit to the United States, during which he is expected to meet President Clinton.