Рет қаралды 283,607
(11 Jun 1999) Natural Sound
Serb civilians living in Kosovo joined the Yugoslav army in fleeing the province on Friday only hours before the expected arrival of the U-N backed peacekeeping force.
Senior British military officials say NATO commander Lieutenant General Mike Jackson plans to be in the Kosovan capital of Pristina by 5 p.m. (1600 GMT) on Saturday.
NATO troops on the Macedonia border with Kosovo also watched as the Yugoslav army began withdrawing from the Jankovic area close to the border with Macedonia.
The arrival of international troops and the return of ethnic-Albanian refugees, are making Serb civilians in Kosovo nervous of retribution.
The road to between Pristina and Kosovska Mitrovica in the Serbian province was congested with both military and civilian vehicles as the exodus began.
Serb civilians living in Pristina rushed to join the Yugoslav army convoy in any vehicle available to them - many travelling, like the ethnic Albanians in the recent past, on tractors and carts.
Near the Macedonian border some 200-300 Serb troops along with Serb civilians were seen leaving the Jankovic area of the Serbian province.
The Serbs were travelling on foot, making their way along a mountainous road.
Infantry and vehicles could also be seen leaving their positions on the Kosovan side of the border.
Italian troops serving with K-FOR watched their departure from the nearby Macedonian border.
Yugoslav troops began their pullback from Kosovo on Thursday, prompting NATO to suspend its air campaign, which started on March 24.
The U-N Security Council then adopted a resolution authorising a heavily armed security force to enter Kosovo to restore peace and begin reconstruction.
A U-N Peacekeeping force is due to enter the province in the next twenty four hours.
Find out more about AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: / ap_archive
Facebook: / aparchives
Instagram: / apnews
You can license this story through AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...