In September freezing weather will be added to their hardships. A United Nations official yesterday said another 500,000 people could flee Kosovo as Serbian forces attempt to clear the Yugoslav province of ethnic Albanians, reports Reuters . Reuters also reports a senior Red Cross official yesterday said about half a million people inside Yugoslavia's borders are thought to be in urgent need of humanitarian aid because of the conflict in Kosovo. NATO soldiers in camps are a threat to refugees, says Rony Brauman, former president of Medecins sans Frontieres, in an interview with Liberation , joining a chorus of humanitarian workers who have criticised mixing humanitarian and military projects. It's very destabilising for NGOs.
Humanitarian work is visible and lends itself well to the camera.
That is its strength and weakness. Turning the refugee camps into targets is the main risk. When soldiers hand out high-protein biscuits one day and load bombs the next, roles become confused. The next stage must be a rapid NATO pullout from the camps . Riot police pushed back 1,000 refugees at dusk at Blace border crossing, shoving some of the asylum seekers and hitting others with batons, witnesses said.