Pressure is mounting on the international community to stop the bloodshed in Kosovo with military force.

Nato defence ministers are meeting to make plans for a possible air strike to halt the Serb offensive in the region.

Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo are striving for independence and have been the victim of continuous attacks by the Serbs for seven months.

Hundreds of Albanians have died and more than 250,000 have been made homeless.

The UN's diplomatic efforts and threat of sanctions against the Serbs have so far proved fruitless.

So is military action the only viable option left to the UN to stop the carnage in Kosovo?

Russia strongly opposes military intervention in the region. Ambassador Sergei Lavrov said the use of force should be "the last resort".

The majority of the UN Security Council say the threat of action needs to be taken seriously by the Serbs.

Further advocates of military intervention say hesitation will only lead to another Bosnian crisis.

No deadline has been set for military intervention. But unless the Serbs agree to call a halt to their aggression, the winter cold threatens some 50,000 ethnic Albanian civilians now hiding in the forests.

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Kosovo: Should the West strike?

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