The United States has confirmed that it intends to house some twenty-thousand refugees from the conflict in Kosovo at its naval base of Guantanamo in Cuba.
A White House spokesman said the operation would start by the end of this week, and would take more than a month to complete.
Guantanamo, in the south-east of Cuba, was ceded to the United States in 1903.
In recent years, it has been used to accommodate thousands of Haitians fleeing the military dictatorship in their country, and Cubans who have tried to leave the island on rafts, headed for the United States.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
Country profiles
Violence greets Clinton visit
Russian forces pound Grozny
EU fraud: a billion dollar bill
Next steps for peace
Cardinal may face loan-shark charges
Vodafone takeover battle heats up
(From Business)
Trans-Turkish pipeline deal signed
French party seeks new leader
Jube tube debut
Athens riots for Clinton visit
UN envoy discusses Chechnya in Moscow
Solana new Western European Union chief
Moldova's PM-designate withdraws
Chechen government welcomes summit
In pictures: Clinton's violent welcome
Georgia protests over Russian 'attack'
UN chief: No Chechen 'catastrophe'
New arms control treaty for Europe
Mannesmann fights back
(From Business)
EU fraud -- a billion-dollar bill
New moves in Spain's terror scandal
EU allows labelling of British beef
UN seeks more security in Chechnya
Athens riots for Clinton visit
Russia's media war over Chechnya
Homeless suffer as quake toll rises
Analysis: East-West relations must shift