(13 Sep 1998) Albanian/Nat
Kosovo’s refugee crisis is spreading to its neighbours with thousands of ethnic-Albanians fleeing the fighting in the Serb province.
Conditions are worsening for the refugees, with shortages of food, water and shelter.
Three thousand refugees were refused entry on Friday by Montenegro, the adjacent Yugoslavian state that already has 40-thousand ethnic-Albanian refugees.
Heavy fighting has driven thousands of ethnic Albanians from their villages in the areas of Decani and Pec.
They walked across the rugged mountains trying to cross into the relative safety in Montenegro.
But on Friday, between 3 to 4-thousand refugees were refused entry by the small republic which is already overrun with 40,000 refugees from the overwhelmingly ethnically-Albanian populated province of Kosovo.
So many of them are spending chilly nights in the open with little food and few blankets, and more are arriving every hour.
No international aid agency was present as they arrived – the refugees received water and food from the locals.
The government of Montenegro, which has been at odds with Serbia over a variety of political and economic issues, appealed to both sides in Kosovo to stop clashes and allow the return of the refugees.
This is small comfort for those stranded by the fighting.
SOUNDBITE: (Albanian)
“We have already been here for four days. We walked through the mountains with small children and we have no food or water. So we need some help from somebody.”
SUPER CAPTION: Vox Pop, Ethnic Albanian refugee from Kosovo
SOUNDBITE: (English)
“I’d like to go to my home, but I can’t. Everything, every people (have been) killed in my place. Every children, every women, every old women, every young women. Everything killed.”
SUPER CAPTION: Shban Kadlane, Ethnic Albanian refugee from Kosovo
The ethnic Albanians’ Kosovo Information Center said late on Saturday that some refugees had been ambushed and shot at near the Montenegro border – but there was no word on casualties or other details, and the report could not immediately be confirmed.
Find out more about AP Archive:
Twitter:
Facebook:
Instagram:
You can license this story through AP Archive:
source