In dramatic turns for the worse yesterday, Serbs began a programme of "ethnic cleansing" within Montenegro; refugees who made it to the Macedonian border were turned back; there was increased shelling by Serbian troops across the Albanian border; and there were reports that Yugoslav troops had crossed into Croatia, NATO said.
The conditions for displaced people within Kosovo were now desperate, NATO said. About 70,000 refugees left Kosovo over the weekend, bringing the number to 600,000 for April. The NATO spokesman, Mr Jamie Shea, reported alliance observations of "a kind of Safari operation" against the Kosovan Albanians.
The forces shelled into the hills where the refugees were hiding, "beating them out of the bush," he said. "On the roads they are moved hither and thither and mixed in with military vehicles. Then they are put into trains and moved to the border, but sometimes when they arrive at the border they are sent back again."
Others were herded towards the south along the borders but not allowed to cross, he said.
Refugee reports were being verified and the findings would be forwarded to the War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague. It has also been claimed that some 700 young boys were taken to be used either as human shields or for use as blood banks for Serb casualties. Last week ethnic Albanian men were allegedly forced to stand in pouring rain in front of tanks for two days with their hands tied behind their heads.
It was also alleged that women had been taken to an army camp near Dakovica where they were repeatedly raped.
In Brussels yesterday for meetings with the NATO Secretary, General, Mr Javier Solana, the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, told journalists: "My generation never thought to see those scenes in Europe again."
He said he was proud of the way all the allied forces had played their part in the NATO campaign against Yugoslavia. "It is a just cause," he said, "and it is a cause we will succeed in winning."
A column of more than 100,000 Kosovan refugees was said by international aid workers to have gone missing on the way to Albania, raising fears for their safety.