ALBANIA: 5 KOSOVO REFUGEES REPORTEDLY KILLED BY LANDMINE скачать в хорошем качестве

ALBANIA: 5 KOSOVO REFUGEES REPORTEDLY KILLED BY LANDMINE

(18 Apr 1999) Eng/Albanian/Nat Five ethnic Albanians are reported to have been killed when their vehicle struck a land mine at the border with Kosovo early on Sunday morning. The accident happened as another huge wave of refugees flooded into the already over-crowded neighbouring Albania. Five ethnic Albanians died at 3 a-m (2 am GMT) on Sunday morning when the vehicle they were travelling in hit a landmine at the Kosovo-Albanian border. Three children, their mother and grandmother were all killed and their father was wounded, according to Mustaeh Berisha, a man who identified himself as a relative. Berisha also appeared to suggest that Serb soldiers had directed them towards the minefield and not warned them of the danger. SOUNDBITE (Albanian with English translation): "They didn't say anything, but they said go, go on, it's a minefield. But before that they didn't say anything that they are going through the minefield. But then when the explosion happened they said why did you go that way because it was a minefield." Question: "Were the mines sitting on the road?" Answer: "Yes" Question: "So his mother, his sister in law (died)." SUPERCAPTION: Mustaeh Berisha, Victims' relative Minefields are just one of the perils Kosovo Albanian refugees face constantly. And when they finally escape the danger within Serbia, they face an uncertain stay in a neighbouring country. In what international officials are labelling the beginning of a second huge wave of refugees fleeing Kosovo, 1-thousand 200 people had crossed the border between midnight and the time of the blast. Since then, Serbian police immediately closed border crossings for security reasons. But those who have did make it across before the border closed, spent the night in makeshift plastic shelters because the camps are full. More than 33-thousand have passed across the border in the past two days. There are reports that 50-thousand more could soon follow. The situation within the refugee camp of border town Kukes is now so bad that there is talk of air-lifting 130-thousand out of the area and turning local schools into temporary shelters. One thing is certain. Until the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo is stopped, refugees will continue to face these perilous journeys for the sake of temporary shelter in neighbouring countries. 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...