The guerrilla movement, the Kosovo Liberation Army, has appealed to all able-bodied ethnic Albanians to join the movement and fight for independence.

In a statement printed in the ethnic Albanian newspaper, the KLA called on ethnic Albanian males to take up arms and fight for the province's liberation.

It urged men aged between 18 and 55 to join in the struggle for Kosovo's independence and asked all of those who had fled their homes following Serb attacks on their villages to come back and fight.

It warned that those who would not return would be considered as traitors.

The appeal comes as international efforts continue to stop the growing conflict in Kosovo.

The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has been talking by phone to the American and Russian presidents, Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin.