The UNHCR's Tam Meechu Bot: 'They were in panic and weak'

The United Nations Refugee agency in Albania told the BBC that more than 1,200 ethnic Albanians had fled to Albania from villages near the border over the weekend.

The refugee influx comes amid reports of intense fighting on Sunday, in which Serb police say they killed dozens of ethnic Albanians fighters.

A spokesman for the United Nations Refugee agency, Tam Meechu Bot, said several thousand more ethnic Albanians were reported to be on the move.

'Biggest refugee wave since fighting began'

The Albanian interior ministry says it is by far the biggest wave of refugees since Serbian security forces in Kosovo began a major offensive against armed ethnic Albanian separatists at the end of February.

A spokesman, Artan Bizhga, said the refugees were mainly women, children and the elderly, many of whom had walked for as many as 10 hours. They were being accommodated in local homes and a school, and local authorities were providing free food and clothes.

• More than 200 people have been killed in clashes between Serbian police and ethnic Albanians since March.

• 90% of Kosovo's population of 2.2 million are ethnic Albanians, most of whom seek independence from Serbia

• Serbia stripped the region of its autonomy in 1989 and has ruled it since with a heavy military and police presence

Will diplomatic efforts work?

Last week, Nato announced a series of measures to heighten its military presence in Albania and Macedonia, with a veiled and indirect threat of military intervention in Kosovo itself.

Nato spokeman says nothing is ruled out

As the fighting continues, a Nato spokeman, Nichaloas Firenze, said that no action had been ruled out.

But the BBC Defence Correspondent says that Nato is unlikely to intervene because Kosovo is officially part of another country - Serbia - and therefore the legal basis for an intervention would be questionable.

BBC Defence Correspondent says Nato is 'fated to be a spectator on the sidelines'

To add to Nato's difficulty, our correspondent says, if it chooses to contain the situation from the border, the alliance could risk blocking the escape routes of ethnic Albanians, and thus inadvertently support the Serb forces.