The parallel parliament and government have been prevented from functioning in Kosovo by Serb police. For almost a decade, Kosovar leaders looked to the international community to improve their situation. Anarchy in neighboring Albania last year gave the KLA the opportunity to acquire weapons. Funding for the KLA reportedly comes from ethnic Albanians abroad, chiefly in Germany and Switzerland, but also in the United States. Serbian paramilitary police forces have attacked villages which they claim harbor members of the Kosovo Liberation Army.
Press reports from the scene suggest that Serb forces have engaged in atrocities against civilians.
Serbian special police units continue to conduct operations against alleged KLA strongholds. Press reports say that the number of armed ethnic Albanian rebels appears to be increasing rapidly, and Serbian police and Yugoslav army units have been heavily reenforced. In late April 1998, Serbian police and Yugoslav military forces said they had repulsed attempts by ethnic Albanians to enter Kosovo from Albania with large supplies of weapons and ammunition. The Yugoslav army has accused Albania of aiding these rebel gun-running efforts, and has reportedly stationed large numbers of troops with heavy weapons close to the border with Albania. Military observers say that Serbian forces are attempting to clear border areas of civilians who could support Kosovar rebels operating in the area.