YUGOSLAVIA: KOSOVO: UROSEVAC: SERBS FLEE AS REFUGEES RETURN

(17 Jun 1999) English/Nat Up to 50-thousand Serbs are said to be on the move from the town of Urosevac in Kosovo as fears of reprisals by ethnic Albanians reach fever pitch. Main routes out of town are jammed with Serbs families who believe the only safety they'll get is in Serbia. NATO troops are trying in vain to convince the Serbs to stay put. A reversal of fortunes. A few weeks ago it was ethnic Albanians who were packing their bags, now it's Kosovo's Serbs...fearful of Albanian retribution. On Thursday, the main railway station in Urosevac looked more like a refugee camp as the town's Serb population tried to make their escape. Thousands of civilians gathered at the station, waiting for trains to take them to the Serb stronghold of Kosovo Polje, near the border with Serbia. NATO forces watched helplessly - unable to stem the relentless flow of refugees. Additional NATO reinforcements of U-S and Greek troops arrived in Urosevac on Thursday. But their presence has done little to convince the Serbs to stay. A U-S soldier confirmed that the return of K-L-A forces to the town had prompted the Serb exodus. SOUNDBITE: "Well yesterday after the initial convoys of the Serbs went out, a lot of the KLA started coming in, into the town, and the Albanians were all over the place and stuff like that... And I believe that now the Serbian soldiers are gone the Serbian people are getting pretty scared so they are going ahead and moving out". SUPER CAPTION: Sergeant Szikowski, US Soldier The Serbs are trying to leave by whatever means possible. A convoy of some 10-thousand vehicles is making slow progress out of Urosevac. Final destination, Serbia. 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...