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Kosovo

Yugoslavia Shuts Down Border Crossing, Leaving Thousands of Refugees in Limbo

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Yugoslavia abruptly closed its main border crossing into Albania on Monday, leaving tens of thousands of Kosovar refugees uncertain about their fate. The move came as U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan prepared to visit Moscow next week to discuss the Kosovo conflict. Meanwhile, NATO airstrikes continued, with Serb media reporting attacks on a military barracks in Nis and a major international telecommunications relay facility.

Key Takeaways:

  • Yugoslavia shut down the main border crossing into Albania, leaving tens of thousands of Kosovar refugees in limbo.
  • The U.N. refugee agency reported that Serbs were turning back refugees, slowing the refugee traffic from Kosovo into Albania, Macedonia, and Montenegro to a trickle.
  • Over the weekend, about 40,000 people either left Kosovo for neighboring territories or were at its borders, aid officials said.
  • The majority of Albanian Kosovars who have fled or been forced out of the Serb province have gone to Albania - 365,000 of more than 600,000.
  • NATO airstrikes aimed to force Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to accept a peace plan for Kosovo, a province in Serbia.
  • U.S. and Russian leaders held phone discussions on the crisis, with Clinton and Yeltsin urging the need for Serb forces to withdraw from Kosovo, despite sharp disagreements on the airstrikes.
  • NATO showed aerial footage of airstrikes in an attempt to explain how warplanes may have hit civilians during an airstrike in southwestern Kosovo.

Statistics:

  • 40,000 people left Kosovo for neighboring territories or were at its borders over the weekend, aid officials said.
  • 365,000 Albanian Kosovars have fled or been forced out of the Serb province and have gone to Albania.
  • 600,000 or more Kosovars have fled or left the province since the crisis began.
  • 60,000 people await refugee status in Albania, aid officials said.
  • NATO airstrikes have continued for 27 nights.

Sources:

  • "Yugoslav Officials Shut Down Border Crossing into Albania," Agence France-Presse, April 19, 1999 (no time specified).
  • "Clinton and Yeltsin Discuss Kosovo Crisis Over Phone," Agence France-Presse, April 19, 1999 (no time specified).
  • "NATO Hopes to Explain Airstrike Explanation over Kosovo," Agence France-Presse, April 19, 1999 (no time specified).
  • "U.S. Says Yugoslav Troops are in Full Retruthoria," Agence France-Presse, April 19, 1999 (no time specified).
  • "U.N. Secretary-General to Visit Moscow to Discuss Kosovo Crisis," Agence France-Presse, April 19, 1999 (no time specified).

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