International officials say there could be new offensives by both Serbian security forces and ethnic Albanian rebels if ceasefire monitors pull out in the coming days.

The fighting follows earlier reports of two separate attacks by the rebels against police in southern Kosovo. The semi-official Serbia media centre said the attacks took place around the same time but there were no police casualties.

There were also reports of fighting near Podujevo to north of Pristina.

International officials in Kosovo say a head of steam is building up across the territory as Serbs and ethnic Albanians wait for the result of the peace talks in Rambouillet and the possibility of the monitors leaving.

Rebel KLA waiting for developments

Evacuation plans are at an advanced stage, although no-one is expected to leave until Sunday at the earliest.

For the time being, the monitoring mission says its teams are carrying out their patrols as usual, but there are serious concerns about what may happen once the monitors pull out.

The BBC Correspondent in Belgrade, Jacky Rowland, says many Western officials believe Kosovo will descend into unchecked violence with the inevitable civilian casualties.