Aid Workers Blocked From Kosovo Refugees
PRISTINA, Yugoslavia - A day after Yugoslav military forces overran a key Kosovo rebel stronghold and sent tens of thousands of civilians fleeing in fear, humanitarian workers here in Kosovo's capital were blocked by Serb police from reaching the area to determine exactly where the refugees had gone and how they are faring.
Unconfirmed reports indicated that up to half of the estimated 35,000 to 40,000 civilians who were in Malisevo, in central Kosovo, before Tuesday's attack might be attempting to find refuge outdoors in a mountainous region south and east of the city. An equal number might have fled north to a valley that is considered one of the few remaining sanctuaries held by the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
A senior Western diplomat who got into the Drenica area reported seeing "tractor load after tractor load" carrying civilians from Malisevo.
Serbian authorities who barred access to the area south and east of Malisevo said that conflict was continuing there and that the roads were not safe. An official of the U.N. refugee agency who was turned back at a checkpoint 15 miles east of Malisevo said he could hear heavy gunfire nearby.
International monitors, aid workers and reporters also were barred yesterday from getting near the village of Junik in the province's southeastern region, where the Yugoslav army claims to have had several hundred rebel guerrillas surrounded for the past three days.
The diplomat said Washington holds the Serbian security forces who have conducted a six-day offensive against the rebels "totally responsible for civilian dislocations." He added: "I'd like to know what's happened to all these refugees."
The refugees are likely to return home until a new agreement is reached with the Yugoslav government that ensures their safety, the diplomat said.