Eighteen trucks carrying heating oil sent by the European Union have arrived in the Serbian opposition-run towns of Nis and Pirot.

The fuel supplies are part of the EU's Energy for Democracy programme aimed at boosting democracy in Serbia, while the EU oil embargo against Yugoslavia, imposed during the Kosovo war, is still in force.

The mayor of Nis, Zoran Zivkovic said the latest shipment would secure heating for the next three days, while a Pirot official said the town was warm again after almost four days of freezing. Once unloaded, the trucks are to return to Macedonia to collect more fuel for the opposition-run towns in Serbia.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service