YUGOSLAVIA: KOSOVO: PODUJEVO: SERBS FLEE AS REFUGEES RETURN

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• published: 21 Jul 2015
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Natural Sound As ethnic Albanian refugees stream back into Kosovo, many of the province's Serb residents continue to flee in fear. Wagons full of Serb and gypsy families made their way to the border with Serbia on Thursday, fearful that the returning Kosovar Albanians or the Kosovo Liberation Army might seek for revenge. In Podujevo, ethnic Albanian children cheered the arrival of British troops, who spent part of Thursday meeting the outgoing Serb military to discuss NATO's complete takeover of the town on Friday. NATO has pledged to make Kosovo safe again for everyone living there - but many residents who are not ethnic Albanian aren't listening. Carts full of Serb and gypsy Kosovars headed north towards the border with Serbia on Thursday, hoping to find safety among their fellow Serbs. They fear that revenge may be the first thing on the minds of ethnic Albanians returning to their homes after the end of the conflict. They left their homes amid allegations of ethnic cleansing and massacres by the Serbs, and now that they are coming back many Serb residents are choosing to leave before violence breaks out. In the Kosovan town of Podujevo, 40 kilometres north of Pristina, British forces arriving as part of NATO's K-FOR peacekeeping mission were given a rapturous welcome. Ethnic Albanian children filled the streets, chanting 'NATO, NATO' and making peace signs. The soldiers face the difficult task of helping all residents rebuild their homes and return to a peaceful, normal way of life. Like their counterparts from other countries stationed around Kosovo, these British forces are trying to ensure that the area is safe for the return of those who fled in terror. NATO now estimates that Serb forces may have killed more than 10-thousand people during two months of war and ethnic violence in the province. For these children, the arrival of NATO troops was a welcome sight after months of fear and uncertainty for their families and neighbours. The last remnants of Serb forces were making their way out of the town on Thursday, just as the British forces took up their position on the streets. In many areas of Podujevo, the streets bear witness to the relentless campaign of intimidation and terror waged by the Serb forces. Driving through many of the town's streets is like passing through the aftermath of a tornado or natural disaster, with buildings burned, windows broken and no sign of life. But this disaster was manmade, and it is now NATO's job to clean up the battle zone. With the NATO troops set to take command of the town on Friday, British military leaders held talks with their local police and Serb counterparts about their exit procedure. Overall, the Serb withdrawal from Kosovo has gone ahead with few incidents. A spokesman for the allied force said on Thursday that 26-thousand of the 40-thousand or so Serb troops in Kosovo had left. Under the peace accord that ended the NATO campaign, all Serb forces are to be out of the province by Sunday night, with allied officials saying the pullout is going well. As more armoured Serb vehicles are being loaded in preparation for their departure, NATO is hopeful that the next few days will see the Serbs' complete withdrawal without any last-minute clashes. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/7cb142cc489e212b97c44a579217852f Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork