He wants to prevent a concentration of the Serb population around the capital Pristina and in the north of the province.

Momcilo Trajkovic, head of the Serbian Resistance Movement, said on Monday that the initiative put forward by the provincial authorities to deal with Serbs arriving from southern Kosovo would only be a solution in the case of Kosovo's division, the Serbian news agency Beta reported.

"However, considering that the international community does not plan such a development, the Serbs should concentrate their efforts on stopping the exodus and returning home," Mr Trajkovic was quoted as saying.

He said Serbs had fled their villages fearing revenge attacks by ethnic Albanian separatists and that some 30,000 Serbs were on the move in Kosovo.

'Verge of chaos'

The situation in Orahovac, Metohija and Urosevac was "critical", he said.

Mr Trajkovic said Serbs had also fled, because of the "local authorities' unwillingness to assume responsibility for their security".

The Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA on Sunday published a statement from the opposition Democratic Christian Party of Serbia calling on Nato and Russian officials to reach a definite agreement on the deployment of peacekeeping forces to prevent any attacks by ethnic Albanian separatists, and protect Serbs wishing to stay in the province.

It said the current situation was on the verge of "chaos".

Wave of refugees

"The withdrawal of the Serbian security forces and the Yugoslav Army from Kosovo, accompanied by the unco-ordinated deployment of K-For, has caused a situation which is on the verge of chaos.

The KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) has used this to attack the people, provoking a new wave of refugees," the statement said.

Montenegrin radio also reported on the exodus of ethnic Serbs and said those living in the main towns of southern Kosovo had all left their homes following the withdrawal of Yugoslav security forces.

"There are no more Serbs in Orahovac, Prizren and the neighbouring towns. The Serbs left their homes after the security forces' withdrawal," the radio said, adding that KLA fighters were now in Prizren.

The Yugoslav state news agency Tanjug reported on the situation in the province following the arrival of K-For peacekeeping forces.

'Shooting, kidnapping and looting'

But it made no mention of "Nato aggressors" - a term frequently used by Tanjug during the bombing campaign.

In a factual report on events in Pristina, it said that the situation in the city on Monday was peaceful, without the tension that had prevailed throughout Sunday when British soldiers were deployed in the city.

"The British command issued a proclamation to the citizens of Pristina yesterday calling on them to refrain from shooting, kidnapping and looting, which - judging from last night, which passed off without shooting sprees - has obviously been observed," Tanjug said.

It said the commander of the British forces in Pristina, Colonel Paul Gibson, met the Chairman of Kosovo's Provisional Executive Council, Zoran Andjelkovic, on Sunday night.

He issued guarantees that "the manner in which his men would be patrolling the city would be encouraging for Serbs, and that his co-operation with the police would preclude dangerous situations for the citizens", Tanjug said.

'Gravely injured'

The agency said British armoured personnel carriers were patrolling the streets and British soldiers, "mainly paratroopers from the special SAS units", had been deployed in the city.

"Most of them have been stationed in places unexposed to the eyes of passers-by, in the areas leading from the centre to suburban settlements," it said.

However, outside the capital, the Beta news agency reported that two civilians were injured during at attack by "armed [ethnic] Albanians" on Monday.

It said Ivan Nicic from Kojlovica, five kilometres west of Pristina, received several gunshot wounds to the chest, but he is not thought to be seriously injured.

Abdun Musa was "gravely injured" near Urosevac and was transferred to Pristina Hospital where he is "fighting for his life", Beta said.