23,000 REFUGEES ENTERED ALBANIA IN LAST 24 HOURS

TIRANA, April 18 (Hina) - A new wave of Kosovo refugees entered Albanian last night, whereas the Serbian campaign of ethnic cleansing has been reaching the final stage. A thousand of deportees cross into Albanian per hour. UN officials have said that only a quarter of the previous population of Kosovo has remained in the area since the outbreak of the war a year ago. According to Albanian sources in Tirana, 23,000 Kosovans passed the border crossing of Morina in the last 24 hours. Five refugees were killed in a blast when their tractor hit a mine near the border on Sunday morning, reported an OSCE representative. Refugees who arrived in Albania overnight were expelled from Kosovska Mitrovica, Djakovica, Srbica, Kosovo Polje, Prizren and Pristina. A few thousands of them spent the night in the open near the Albanian town of Kukes, in the vicinity of the border. They do not want to move further since they seem to wish to stay as near as possible to Kosovo. UNHCR called on them to accept accommodation in other refugee settlements, since Kukes is overcrowded. EU monitors have got information that many ethnic Albanians were forced to wear Yugoslav Army uniforms and plant mines in fields in order to convince NATO forces they were Yugoslav troops. (hina) ms