-Caveat Lector-
>From TheIndependent (UK)
War in the Balkans - Refugee Camps
THE vast tented camp at Kukes, the main crossing point on the border
with Albania, may be forcibly cleared of its 35,000 refugees within a
week. Observers believe that indicates Nato is preparing the area for
alliance ground troops.
Lieutenant-General John Reith, Nato's commander in Albania, said the
government in Tirana may order the camp to be shut if the refugees
continue to resist efforts to transfer them elsewhere in the county
as a means of avoiding the danger of an impending heatwave, water
shortage and Serbian artillery. Lt-Gen Reith also said that, in his
opinion, it will take up to two years to get the refugees back home,
even after any peace settlement.
The experience of Bosnia had shown, he said, that when the
infrastructure and the social fabric of a country is shattered, two
years is the minimum time needed to resettle the population.
Lt-Gen Reith, one of the most influential figures in Albania at
present, said it was still possible he would advise the government in
Tirana to force the closure of the camp. Such a move would almost
certainly provoke disturbances among refugees, according to aid
workers. The Nato commander also said there had been reports that
refugees who have agreed to move from Kukes have changed their mind
after a visit from the Kosovo Liberation Army. Local KLA commanders
are said to be against attempts by Nato and the United Nations High
Commission for Refugees to move the exiles to different locations,
because it will distance them from an immediate return to their homes
and also take away a pool of potential recruits.
There has already been talk of the Kukes camp being shut before the
winter, when the temperature on high ground in the Albanian mountains
can fall to minus 30C. However, the high summer temperatures in the
mountains and an acute water shortage have led to fears that
infectious diseases might start to spread among the thousands of
refugees living under canvas.
Lt-Gen Reith said: "The camps should be shut down and even if we can
begin next week it will take us three or four weeks to complete the
mission. I want this to happen as I do not want to preside over
ahuman catastrophe."
Nato forces have also discovered that Serbian ground troops have
begun to dig in on the other side of the border in preparation for a
possible land invasion of Kosovo. Their guns are within easy reaching
distance of the Kukes camp. There is also increasing KLA activity in
the area.
The general's forces, which already number 7,000 men, including
marines and paratroopers based in Durres, have been providing
humanitarian aid. However, indications that the ground is being laid
for a land intervention include the fact that a number of roads are
being built towards the border.
Units of armour are also present in the area, ready for future
deployment. The forces under Lt-Gen Reith can be used for rapid
deployment by Nato from Albania into Kosovo.
A further thousand troops are expected to join the Nato force in the
near future.
A<>E<>R
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