BBC News Online: World: Europe

Refugees say Serbs withhold food

From the border at Balce they are being transferred by bus to a refugee camp south-west of the capital, Skopje.

Officials from the United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR, who were allowed to speak to them, say some were driven from their homes by Serbian police.

Others, they say, mainly from the town of Urosevac, were prevented from buying food from the shops by the Serbian authorities and so had no choice but to leave.

One woman told UN officials that her father had gone out to buy food and was later found shot dead.

The groups arriving over the past two days were the first refugees to arrive in Macedonia since the government temporarily closed the border 10 days ago saying it could not cope with mass arrivals.

After the uncertainty over the border closure, the latest arrivals said they decided to risk the journey after hearing on foreign news broadcasts that fellow refugees were being allowed through into Macedonia, many without passports.

(Click here to see a map of latest refugee movements)

The UNHCR believes there could be thousands more waiting inside Kosovo for their chance to escape.

They fear another large influx in the next few days.

Refugee return

Meanwhile, Nato Secretary-General Javier Solana has echoed his belief that the refugees would be home "before winter".

Mr Solana vowed that the bombing campaign against Yugoslavia will continue until its aims are achieved.

He said he had no doubt that hundreds of thousands of Kosovo refugees had been displaced by the Serb military.

"We are on schedule," he told the BBC's Breakfast With Frost programme. "We are going to win, no question about that."

He also said he expected to learn "dramatic facts" surrounding the alleged atrocities in Kosovo once international troops had escorted refugees home.

"You don't see males in their 30s to 60s. It will be clarified upon entry into Kosovo and probably we'll see dramatic facts we don't even believe," the Nato chief said.

Nato spokesman Jamie Shea has said there is concern at reports that men between the ages of 16 and 65 are being turned back at the border.

Yugoslavia says these men are of conscription age and cannot leave.

(click here to return)

Relevant Stories

UNHCR slams MPs' claims (15 May 99 | UK)
UN failing Kosovo refugees - MPs (15 May 99 | UK Politics)
Blair: My pledge to the refugees (14 May 99 | UK Politics)
Refugees recount fresh atrocities (13 May 99 | Europe)
New wave of refugees in Macedonia (13 May 99 | Europe)
Aid agencies prepare for winter (12 May 99 | Europe)

Internet Links

Latest Kosovo news - UNHCR

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

In this section

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