The government of Montenegro says it has thrown a cordon of police protection around ethnic Albanian refugees from Kosovo.

It says it will take all necessary measures to defend them against possible attack by the Yugoslav army and Serb paramilitaries.

The recently appointed special United Nations envoy, Dennis McNamara, said the need was to move the refugees out, not only because their camps were in a very dangerous border area, but because they were at risk from epidemics from unacceptable conditions.

Montenegro is sheltering more than sixty-thousand refugees from Kosovo.