MACEDONIA: KOSOVO REFUGEE CRISIS LATEST (2)
(24 May 1999) Albanian/Nat United Nations refugee workers have persuaded Macedonian officials to allow more than 3-thousand ethnic Albanian refugees to enter the country after an hour-long standoff in the rain at the border. Faced with an estimated 15-thousand new refugees streaming to the Blace crossing over the weekend, government officials had tried to transfer some Kosovars to refugee camps in Albania. With all other camps full, the latest refugee arrivals are now being held in a transit camp. An estimated 15-thousand new refugees streamed to the Blace crossing over the weekend - the biggest influx of refugees from Kosovo U-N aid officials have seen for two weeks. There are now fears that the Serbs have started a final push to empty Kosovo of Albanians. While more than 2-thousand refugees are being airlifted out of the region daily, the UN's refugee agency said it can't keep up with the number of refugees arriving into Macedonia. By Sunday night, all of Macedonia's refugee camps were full. These latest arrivals face being housed in border transit camps. On Sunday night, government officials had tried to bus some four thousand refugees to camps in Albania. But workers with the U-N refugee agency blocked one bus with a white, U-N sedan. Some of the refugees told reporters that Macedonia was refusing to let them enter unless they signed a statement that they were willing to be sent on to Albania. The UN opposes sending refugees from Macedonia to other destinations without their consent. Last week, Macedonia assured U-N Secretary-General Kofi Annan that it would continue to allow ethnic Albanians to seek refuge within its borders and that there was space for 20-thousand more. Some of the arrivals on Sunday used to live in Pristina, Kosovo's capital, and Urosevac. Many had arrived in the two towns after wandering the region for weeks, hiding in villages and forests in hopes of returning to their homes. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
