The fighting is centred in villages in western Kosovo along the border with Albania.

The area has been closed to outsiders by Serbian police since the new wave of violence broke out after Serbian government officials and ethnic Albanians met for peace talks.

However, according to a BBC correspondent, some journalists have managed to get through.

They have reported that security forces were systematically destroying entire ethnic Albanian villages by shelling houses and then setting them on fire.

Further reports said there were periods of heavy fighting from both sides involving automatic weapons and grenade launchers along the border belt running from Decani to Jacovica.

Some key facts about the situation:

• More than 250 people have been killed in clashes between Serbian police and ethnic Albanians since the beginning of the year.

• 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.

Confirmation hard to obtain

The latest round of fighting broke out over the last week. Early reports said a large number of people had been killed or wounded in the clashes.

Serb police said they had killed dozens of Albanians on Sunday after coming under fire in villages in the west of Kosovo.

Two Serb police officers also reportedly died in the clashes. A further police officer was reportedly injured in Monday's fighting.

Meanwhile, Albanian sources said their own death toll in wave of violence was at least 15 with another 20 wounded.