- Title: VARIOUS: KOSOVO REFUGEES CONTINUE TO HEAD FOR ALBANIA AND MACEDONIA.
- Date: 20th April 1999
- Summary: TIRANA, ALBANIA (APRIL 20, 1999) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) GV/MV: EXTERIOR MILITARY HOSPITAL (2 SHOTS) GV/MV: KOSOVO LIBERATION ARMY (KLA) FIGHTERS IN HOSPITAL BEDS (6 SHOTS) GV/MV: HELICOPTERS / NATO SOLDIERS (5 SHOTS) CU: (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) NATO COMMANDER OF OPERATION ALLIED HARBOUR GEN JOHN REITH: "The people I have here are configured purely for a humanitarian operation. (REPORTER'S QUESTION: COULD THEY DO THE JOB IF CALLED ON? "I am not configured for that I only have sufficient infantry for force protection, otherwise I am configured with engineers, transport and medical." GV: RADAR
- Embargoed: 5th May 1999 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: KUKES AND TIRANA, ALBANIA/STANKOVIC AND LOCATION ON MACEDONIAN-ALBANIAN BORDER/ LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM/ NEAR DEVET JUGOVICA, YUGOSLAVIA
- City:
- Country: Kosovo United Kingdom Albania
- Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics,Social Services / Welfare
- Reuters ID: LVACAZ240WOS3S63QX7NMB7LLDZW
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: Refugees continue to flee Kosovo bound for Albania and Macedonia.
Aid agencies at the sprawling Stankovic camp close to Macedonia's border with Kosovo are faced with the arrival of even more ethnic Albanians.
Increasing pressure on the camp's resources means aid workers are trying harder than ever to move groups of the refugees on to more permanent homes.
In expectation of a mass influx the UNHCR is building a transfer camp at the Macedonia-Kosovo border crossing.
Meanwhile, NATO military hardware for medical and transport purposes has been arriving in the Albanian capital Tirana.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is evacuating refugees from Kosovo who have arrived in the Albanian-Yugoslav border town of Kukes because of a perceived threat to the security of the refugees.
But some refugees do not want to go.
Hamdi Rexheti said he wanted to stay close to his home in Kosovo because no one could guarantee that he would ever be able to return there if he left Kukes.
Arif Sherifi from Mitrovica said he wanted to stay and look for his family which he lost on the trek out of Kosovo.
In Macedonia, relief groups are struggling to feed, shelter and care for almost 50,000 Kosovo ethnic Albanian refugees at Stankovic's two compounds.
A new transit camp is being built at the Yugoslav-Macedonian border.
Britain said on Tuesday it would hand over a huge dossier of intelligence material to the War Crimes Tribunal in an unprecedented move aimed at bringing to justice those guilty of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.
But the tribunal's prosecutor, Judge Louise Arbour said the process would be difficult because the tribunal had limited resources and relied heavily on the goodwill of governments.
She said prosecutions would be pursued up to the highest level and Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic could be indicted if there was enough evidence.
Arbour said that since the tribunal's resources were limited international cooperation was essential.
In the Albanian capital, Tirana, supplies and military hardware have continued to arrive at the airport, as NATO's force in Albania prepared for the imminent arrival of potent U.S.ground attack Apache helicopters.
NATO commander of the Allied Harbour operation General John Reith said his force had no mandate to act beyond its humanitarian remit.
In Kosovo, refugees have been taking the road from Podjuevo to Prizren. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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