At the peak of the exodus, refugees attempting to enter Albania and Macedonia formed lines many miles in length from the border. While Serbian authorities have caused this mass exodus to take place, they have alternately allowed refugees to cross the border, and then prevented them from doing so. This has made the efforts by refugee and relief agencies to accommodate refugees even more difficult by creating confusion and uncertainty. Serbian authorities overseeing the expulsion seem to systematically expel Kosovar Albanians, distributing the movements among crossing points so as to manage the expulsions to achieve a political result. The UN has more recently reported that thousands of additional refugees have arrived in Macedonia, and that the situation in the refugee camps there has reached a critical point.
Macedonian camps are overcrowded and tensions are rising.
The health and sanitation situation is quickly deteriorating, leading relief workers to fear the outbreak of epidemics in the camps with the onset of warmer weather. The destruction appears to be much more extensive and thorough than occurred last summer. Many settlements were totally destroyed in an apparent attempt to ensure that the ethnic Albanian population could not return. Serbian forces have reportedly burned all houses previously rented to OSCE observers in Vucitrn, Stimlje, and Mitrovica. Refugees report that mosques and religious sites have been attacked or destroyed in at least 21 villages and towns.