AMERICANS ARE LEAVING SKOPJE TEMPORARILY

WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Hina) - A spokesman for the Pentagon said on Wednesday that U.S. citizens were withdrawing from a base in Skopje just temporarily and for security reasons. There are over 600 U.S. citizens working in the "Able Sentry" base within the logistic support to NATO-led international peace keepers in Kosovo (KFOR). Of them, about 500 are soldiers and the rest are either civilians employed by the US army or employees of a company working for the army, the spokesman, Admiral Craig Quigley, said. Earlier on Wednesday, a spokesman for U.S. KFOR troops in Kosovo, Major Randy Martin, said almost a half of Americans would depart from Skopje to the Camp Bondsteel near Urosevac. A first group of 109 Americans already arrived in Kosovo, while another group of some 100 Americans is expected in Kosovo until the end of this week. Most of them are civilians or civilian employees of the army, Quigley added. After recent anti-West protests in the Macedonian capital, a part of U.S. diplomats and their families left Skopje. The U.S. Embassy in Skopje has been working only for urgent cases for one week, although it has not officially been closed. The security at the U.S embassy's premises has been tightened as well. (hina) ms