Fighting hits Serbia peace plans

The flashpoint Presevo valley in southern Serbia has experienced some of its fiercest fighting since the end of the Kosovo conflict.

Artillery battles lasting several hours have taken place across an internationally imposed buffer zone next to the border with Kosovo, between the Yugoslav army and ethnic-Albanian separatists.

Reports from the area say hundreds of Serb villagers are fleeing from the fighting.

The upsurge in violence comes as both the Serbian Government and the Albanian rebels have indicated they are willing to negotiate to end the fighting.

Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic announced on Tuesday the government was adopting a plan which could include for the first time talks with Albanian separatist fighters, according to state television.

Unified strategy

Earlier, a spokesman for the ethnic Albanian separatist group, the UCPMB, said agreement had been reached "to unify our strategy and prepare a platform for possible negotiations with the Serbs."

It [Presevo Valley] is an integral part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Serb Government spokesman Ivan Bender

The government's plans include proposals for observers to supervise the demilitarisation of the buffer zone which separates Kosovo from the rest of Serbia, and where more than 1,000 Albanian rebels are known to operate. But there would be no autonomy for the area.

The rebels are demanding that the Albanian-inhabited areas of southern Serbia become part of Kosovo.

Kosovo, which remains sovereign Yugoslav territory, is currently under UN administration, but many of its Albanian majority population favour independence from Yugoslavia.

Upsurge in violence

Known by Albanians as "eastern Kosovo", the Presevo Valley includes three towns with a predominantly ethnic Albanian population - Presevo, Bujanovac and Medveja.

It has been at the heart of violent clashes between Serb police and the UCPMB.

In the last few days one Serb soldier has been killed and four wounded in the region - the worst violence since last November when four Serb policemen were killed.