(21 Mar 1999) Natural Sound
Thousands of ethnic Albanians are on the run in Kosovo ahead of a Serb offensive that
coincided with the departure of international monitors.
The defiance of NATO by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic could be the final trigger for air strikes.
The future for those who remain in Kosovo is equally precarious.
An ethnic Albanian newspaper accused of spreading hatred has been ordered by the Serb authorities to appear in court.
Extending over dozens of kilometres (miles), fighting stretched from the northern town of Podujevo to the central Drenica region, the heart of the ethnic Albanian rebellion.
In Drenica, houses were reported ablaze and thousands of villagers were driven from their homes by troops in white jump suits and black ski masks.
Villages further north were also reported attacked.
The Yugoslav army was spotted on the move even as the last international monitors - who for several months sought to contain the Yugoslav military buildup by their presence - crossed the border into neighbouring Macedonia.
The intensified fighting drove Kosovo to the verge of the full-scale combat that devastated the separatist province last year.
It also signified unflinching defiance by President Slobodan Milosevic to NATO and its repeated threat of airstrikes.
A fleet of warships and attack planes, including the U-S Air Force's most powerful aircraft, stood ready on Sunday for possible punitive strikes on military targets in Yugoslavia.
The latest fighting sparked yet another mass exodus of refugees.
Thousands of ethnic Albanians made their way to the Glogovac area west of Pristina, fleeing recent offensives in region.
Families packed what belongings they could carry and fled to safety.
Although the international monitors left Kosovo on Saturday, aid agencies remain.
The U-N-H-C-R (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) is planning more convoys to bring in essential supplies.
But the future for those who remain is precarious.
The editors of the Kohe Ditore newspaper - written and published in Kosovo by ethnic Albanians since 1991 - have been ordered to appear in court by the Serb authorities who accuse them of spreading hatred.
The newspaper editors are to appear in court on Sunday where it is expected they will be asked to pay an estimated 100-thousand U-S dollars fine - a sum they are unable to raise.
Koha Ditore is the most popular ethnic Albanian newspaper in Kosovo.
It is owned by Veton Surroi, a member of the ethnic Albanian negotiating team.
The move against ethnic Albanian media in Kosovo seem to be part of a major clampdown by Serbian forces.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
