Tens of thousands of refugees stranded at Kosovo borders

Ethnic Albanian refugees wait for transport out of Kosovo Saturday as threatening rain clouds approach RELATED VIDEO CNN's Matthew Chance reports that many of the refugees who have fled to Macedonia are relying heavily on relatives and Macedonia's government for food and shelter (April 2) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K Aid agencies are calling the refugee crisis "catastrophic." CNN's Richard Blystone talks with aid workers April 2 Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Chris Burns talks to exhausted ethnic Albanian refugees entering Albania from Yugoslavia on April 1 Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K To view the latest video streams on the strikes in Yugoslavia, use the arrow buttons below to scroll through the video gallery. Real Windows Media   28 K 80 K    ALSO: Missiles knock out key targets in central Belgrade Voices of refugees Government takes over independent Yugoslav radio station Montenegro fears Yugoslav takeover  MESSAGE BOARD Crisis in Kosovo INTERACTIVE: Image Galleries: Kosovo Refugees The refugee children of Kosovo RELATED AUDIO CNN's Mike Boettcher talks to Chris Thomas of the Red Cross Saturday about dire refugee conditions in Blace, Macedonia. Grave health concerns 374K/16 sec. AIFF or WAV sound People living in mud 374K/12 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Wait days for medical attention 498K/24 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

Macedonia closes door to more

April 3, 1999
Web posted at: 7:09 p.m. EST (0009 GMT)

In this story: NATO, U.S. pledge aid International troops to aid refugees Germany steps in to help RELATED STORIES, SITES

BLACE, Macedonia (CNN) -- Tens of thousands of ethnic Albanian refugees were stranded at Kosovo's borders with Macedonia and Albania Saturday night as temperatures dipped and rain fell.

Crowds of men, women and children huddled together shivering in fields near Blace, Macedonia, where international relief workers said as many as 40,000 refugees from Kosovo were camped.

Buses stopped coming to pick them up and deliver them to local homes and other sanctuaries, following the Macedonian government's decision to not accept any more refugees except those en route to another country. Macedonian police and troops began sealing off the border area Saturday.

"There are 55,000 refugees in Macedonia now and 50,000 more at the border," said Deputy Prime Minister Radmila Kiprijanova. "Macedonia's security could be seriously threatened. We cannot accept any more than we have now."

"We have nothing against the Serbs. But (Yugoslav President Slobodan) Milosevic is the Stalin of Yugoslavia. Look what he has done," said Fisnik Mitushi, an ethnic Albanian from Macedonia who was organizing help for the refugees.

NATO, Clinton pledge aid

NATO announced plans Saturday for a major humanitarian relief effort Saturday to help Macedonia and Albania deal with the massive influx of refugees.

Yugoslav forces have driven about 290,000 ethnic Albanians from their homes in Kosovo during the past 10 days, NATO spokesman Jamie Shea said Saturday. That figure brings the total number displaced from their homes during the past year to 756,000.

If refugees continue to leave Kosovo at the current rate, the remaining ethnic Albanians could be cleared from the Serbian province in less than three weeks, Shea said, adding that the region is experiencing a "demographic earthquake."

He said that as many as 300,000 more ethnic Albanians in Kosovo were believed en route to the borders.

U.S. President Bill Clinton on Saturday reiterated that Washington would release $50 million in emergency aid to support the refugee relief efforts, and urged Americans to donate to their local Red Cross and church charities.

British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said his country is considering establishing a refugee sanctuary in Macedonia that would be backed by the international community and protected by NATO troops.

But for Macedonian officials the offers may have come too late. Pavle Trajanov, the former Yugoslav republic's interior minister, said Macedonia was forced to close off its border with Kosovo, as the wave of refugees streaming into the country threaten to overwhelm it.

Macedonia is one of the poorest countries in Europe.

International troops to aid refugees

A sea of refugees crowd into a camp that lacks sanitation or shelter in Blace, Macedonia

Refugees who have managed to reach the Kosovo borders with Macedonia and Albania are staying in makeshift camps with no latrines and little to keep them warm and dry.

"The health concerns are grave," said Chris Thomas of the American Red Cross, who was working at a refugee camp along the Macedonian border.

"People came in sick. It's cold at night, almost freezing temperatures. The rain has continued off and on the last couple of days. It doesn't bode well for their health," Thomas told CNN on Saturday.

"NATO is obviously extremely concerned," Shea said. "That would be an understatement."

NATO forces in Macedonia have been put under the command of Lt. Gen. Mike Jackson, who will use them to set up camps and feeding stations, Shea said.

NATO asked Gen. Wesley Clark, its top military commander in Europe, to set up a military aid operation in Albania to help refugees.

The plans call for NATO to carry aid via helicopter to refugees from Tirana, Albania's capital, to the border town of Kukes; those helicopters would then carry refugees to other locations in the country's interior. NATO troops would coordinate the management of supplies, air traffic and port operations, Shea said.

NATO also plans to send 6,000 Italian troops to Albania to assist aid workers, he said.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott visited refugee camps in Albania on Saturday, vowing NATO would "see this through" and help the refugees get back to their homes in Kosovo.

Germany steps in to help

Germany said Saturday it would take in refugees and offer aid to ease the stress on Macedonia's resources.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder accused Milosevic of carrying out a program of "systematic deportation."

He said Germany would send at least six army flights to Macedonia per day with tents, medical supplies, doctors and other humanitarian aid. A similar effort will be mounted in Albania, he added.

German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping called the effort the biggest humanitarian operation the German army has ever undertaken.

Many of the refugees say they were ordered out of their homes and out of the province by Serb forces in a campaign of "ethnic cleansing."

Yugoslav officials deny those reports, saying the refugees are fleeing NATO airstrikes and fighting between Yugoslav troops and ethnic Albanian guerrillas.

CNN correspondent Patricia Kelly, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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