NATO is considering options for air strikes in Kosovo

TIRANA, Albania (CNN) -- The United Nations moved closer Tuesday to laying the groundwork for military intervention in Kosovo, while a top member of the self-styled Kosovo government in exile was assassinated in Albania.

Ahmet Krasniqi, said to be the defense minister of Kosovo's ethnic Albanian government, was shot to death in Albania's capital late Monday.

"Mr. Krasniqi was killed by unidentified gunmen while entering his home in Tirana," said Artan Bizhga, a spokesman for the Albanian Interior Ministry.

Kosovo, an Albanian-majority province in the Yugoslav republic of Serbia, has been a battleground in recent months between Serb and Yugoslav forces and ethnic Albanians fighting for the region's independence.

The Yugoslav-Serb fighters launched a fierce offensive Tuesday against the last remaining stronghold of separatists, capturing at least four guerrilla-held villages, according to the Serb Media Center.

The fighting has left tens of thousands dead or fleeing their country, and pushed the United Nations to consider threatening military action if a cease-fire is not begun. A draft resolution calling for the cease-fire was introduced in the Security Council Tuesday and will likely come to a vote on Wednesday.

The resolution demands that both Yugoslav authorities and the Kosovo Albanian leadership "take immediate steps to improve the humanitarian situation and to avert the impending humanitarian catastrophe" that many fear is on the way as winter settles on the region.

The resolution does not authorize the use of force, but it does help "build the political case" for military force "when and if force is needed down the road," said one U.S. official.

Dole urges intervention

Meanwhile, a Pentagon spokesman said the United States would like a NATO formal warning to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to end the crackdown on Kosovo separatists.

"We are in favor of having NATO move to the next stage, which is the so-called activation warning, to come closer to the use of military force if necessary," said Ken Bacon.

Former presidential candidate and Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole urged U.S. President Bill Clinton to take the lead in possible military intervention in Kosovo, saying the United States and its allies don't need to wait for a U.N. resolution.

"I think it's time to do something," Dole told CNN. "I don't believe any political pressure, economic, any kind of pressure will work."

Dole said he made his case to the president, who had sent him on a fact-finding mission to Kosovo two weeks ago.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.