MACEDONIA: KOSOVO REFUGEE CRISIS LATEST

(21 Apr 1999) Albanian/Nat A fresh arrival of sixteen bus loads of refugees have arrived in Blace, Macedonia, on Wednesday morning from the so called "no man's land" between Kosovo and Macedonia. They bring with them unverified reports that the city of Gnilan, south of Pristina, has been shelled by Serbian police and that there are dead and wounded from the civilian population. Between five and six thousand ethnic Albanian Kosovar refugees have been bused to a newly constructed transit camp, in Blace on Wednesday morning. These latest refugees have come from the so called "no man's land" between the Kosovar and Macedonian border at Lojane. Many of these refugees have spent up to two nights living rough in the cold, as Macedonian police refused them entry. The majority of these refugees are from the city of Gnilan, south of Pristina. Reports have arrived with them that Serbian police have shelled Gnilan, and that they fled leaving behind other residents of the city and the dead and wounded. SOUNDBITE: (Albanian) "They didn't touch us when we walked, only in our village. We were kicked out of our houses. Some were wounded, some were dead. We were told to leave our houses. We left our cows outside, doors open, everything open. We just left. You can stay and be killed or go." SUPER CAPTION: Musli Ramadani, Refugee The old and tired can only pray for peace now. Most walked to Presevo, about forty kilometers from Gnilan, where they stayed for two days before continuing on to the border a further ten kilometers away. SOUNDBITE: (English) "They look to be, seem to be in fairly good condition. One thing I noticed is that the busses are not as packed as I've seen before. So that's quite good, which is why it's probably taken many more buses to get them back here" SUPER CAPTION: Avassi Patel, UNHCR Aid Worker It was at Blace, two weeks ago, where thousands of refugees crossed from Kosovo into Macedonia and lived in makeshift plastic shelters amongst horrendous conditions. Aid workers distributed food and water to the sixteen busloads of new arrivals. Later they erected tents for them to sleep in for the night. 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...