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SERBIAN MASSACRES

• 2,670 Kosovars deported at Morina yesterday
• Fighting in the hills of Junik
• Another operation near Istog
• Serb Forces from Montenegro enter Kosova
• A truck filled with Serb Troops Destroyed
• Two Serb Paramilitary Soldiers Killed
• Serbs plant decoys to trick NATO planes
• Serbs use Albanian Flags in attempts to trick NATO
• 37 Days of Valiant Resistance
• The War as Reported from Llapusha
• Information concerning a Russian Officer killed on the Kosova-Albanian Border
• Montenegrins step up opposition to Yugoslav military
• Anti-Yugoslav protest in Montenegro
• British seeking ground troops (NYT)
• INTERVIEW WITH ARCHBISHOP OF BELGRADE
• NATO warplanes roar over Serbia despite Yugoslav protests
• Allies Plan Ground Options

2,670 Kosovars deported at Morina yesterday
Prizren, May 22, (Kosovapress) Yesterday around 19:00 at the Albanian border post of Morina 2.670 inhabitants of Suhareka and its neighboring villages arrived. The list of villages include: Budakovė, Mohlan, Dellovė, Vraniq, Savrovė, Graiēec, Papaz, Topillė, Devetak, Jezerc, Bukosh, Shirokė, and Duhėl. Many among them have been forced out of their homes in the past week and had taken refuge in a place called Reka e Topillė, in the mountains of Suhareka and Shtime. According to those crossing the border last night, there are between 10,000 and 15,000 civilians still seeking shelter in these areas.
We have learned from these deportees that Serb forces have taken a number of these people, sending one group towards Shtime of Ferizaj, and another group to the factory "Damper" in Suhareka, where Serb troops are using them as human shields to prevent NATO air strikes. It has reported that a number of these captives have been placed in residences in Suhareka. This took place before May 21, when, at 10:00, they all were given 15 minutes to leave for the Albanian border. Many of these inhabitants had been given a document by Serb police which, in Serbian, stated they were required to report to Serb police upon being forced from their residence and to hand over this document to Serb police. (This is possibly used to legitimize the "transaction" between the former inhabitants and anyone, presumably Serb colonists, who will take their place. Serbs have learned their lesson from Bosnia and have prepared for the return of deportees). Among those interviewed at Mornia, the Serb forces were assisted by the collaborator, Agim Sopaj from Sopia of Suhareka.

Fighting in the hills of Junik
Junik, May 22, (Kosovapress) Last night KLA units confronted Serb forces in the hills surrounding Junik. The battle lasted throughout the night and has continued today. During the course of the fighting, thirteen Serb soldiers have been killed, including a high officer. There have not been confirmations on the extent of any material damages. According to our sources in the region, two fortified posts and a military vehicle were destroyed.
KLA artillery units have coordinated with other ground units throughout the Rrafshit tė Dukagjini region last night and today. The battle is in progress.

Another operation near Istog
Istog, May 22, (Kosovapress) May 18, in Podi i Mavriqeve, near Staradran, in the municipality of Istog, a KLA unit of the 132nd "Adrian Krasniqi," Brigade undertook an attack on a Serb police unit and their vehicles. Six were killed four others were injured as a result. The two vehicles have been destroyed.

Serb Forces from Montenegro enter Kosova
Istog, May 22 (Kosovapress) In the last two days, a large number of forces have entered Kosova from bases in Montenegro. These forces are concentrated at several sites in the Banjės sė Pejės and Vrellės sė Istog areas. This force in the afternoon began to shell the few remaining civilians in the area and KLA positions. Serb forces have reportedly burned all summer cabins used in peaceful times by locals visiting this mountainous area. KLA units are making all possible efforts to help these civilians.

A truck filled with Serb Troops Destroyed
Kaēanik, May 22, (Kosovapress) Reports from fighting that occurred well into last night state that dispersed Serb units, unable to penetrate KLA lines resorted to burning down the following villages: Runjevė, Krivanjevė, Stagovė and Lagjėn e Re of Kaēaniku. In defense of civilians, KLA troops from the 162nd "Agim Bajrami" brigade operating out of the Nerodima region, inflicted big loses on Serb troops and their equipment. The inhabitants of these villages have taken refuge in the mountains. In the village of Stagovė ten civilians were killed and three others injured. It has not yet been possible to identify the victims since Stagova had been a place of refuge for displaced people from throughout the region. It has been reported, however, that Ekrem Gudaqi and three of guests were abducted from his home in Stagovė during this attack.

Two Serb Paramilitary Soldiers Killed
Ferizaj, May 22, (Kosovapress) In the city of Ferizaj two Serb paramilitary soldiers were killed, including Ivica Miodrag Petrovic (29) from Aleksandrovc. They were in the process of looting Kosovar homes when they were killed. Elsewhere, Serb forces stationed along the road "Zenel Hajdini," executed Faik Gurin (60) along with two guests around 40 years of age as they looted his home.

Serbs plant decoys to trick NATO planes
Shtime, May 22 (Kosovapress) According to our sources, Serb troops have planted many decoys all along the Shtime-Lipjan road today. Among them are fake tanks, armored vehicles and cannons which are made from plastic.

Serbs use Albanian Flags in attempts to trick NATO
Suharekė, May 22, (Kosovapress) In the areas where Serb forces are concentrated in the villages of Budakovė and Papaz in Suhareka, Albanian flags have been raised to trick NATO air planes.

37 Days of Valiant Resistance
Suharekė, May 22 (Kosovapress) The IInd Battalion of the 123rd brigade operating out of Pashtriku, resisted for 37 days the attacks of Serb forces in the village of Budakovė in the Suhareka region. In these clashes, more than fifty Serb police and military personnel were eliminated and three armored vehicles and one cannon was destroyed. This KLA unit has captured the weapons and ammunition of these defeated forces. During this battle, the following members of this valiant KLA unit have fallen in action: Besnik Muēaj, Zaim Muēaj, Azem Behluli, Bafti Shala, Selim Veselaj, Emrush Buzhala, Avdyl Beqiraj and Jemin Musliu. 22 other freedom fighters have been injured, three badly.

The War as Reported from Llapusha
Malishevė, May 22, (Kosovapress) Serb forces, with one Praga and other heavy weapons have been positioned at the top of Kiku, close to Gurėbardh, in the district of Malisheva. Until two days ago, there were reportedly 6 dead Kosovars spotted there. According to Adem Berisha, from Gurbardhi, who had seen from close range the six dead, he could identify Maliq Sopaj from Janēisti, Jahir Mazreku from Malisheva and Mustafė Krasniqi from Astrazubi. Two days ago, Serb troops took the bodies and it is not known what they did with them.
In the zone under the control of the 122nd brigade which operates in the Pashtriku region, over the last two months, Serb forces have reportedly killed up to 145 innocent civilians. Among the victims were women, children and the old. More than 30 of the dead bodies were burnt by Serb forces in an attempt to destroy evidence of the massacre. From this area, there are 18 civilians who have survived, although they are gravely injured.
From the 122nd Brigade itself, 14 soldiers have died in their confrontation with Serb forces.
In the mountains of Damaneku and Zatriēi, there are over 30,000 displaced villagers who are in hiding. These people are facing starvation and lack the basic necessities of life. The number of displaced persons is growing as internally displaced persons arrive from other war zones.
From this group, attacks by Serb forces have killed 150 and caused the disappearance of 150 more. In addition, more than 200 have died from exposure to the elements and a lack of basic supplies.
Serb forces are reportedly positioned in Turjakė tė Vogėl, Lubizhdė, Mirushė, Malishevė, Dragobil, Astrazub, Llapēevė and Drenoc tė Zatriēit
On May 22, Serb forces attempted to enter with tanks, Praga, and armored personnel carriers the villages of Maxharre, Marali and Janēist. In the course of the battle which ensued, KLA units forced these Serb forces to retreat, causing damage to one Praga, and a number of casualties including three dead.

Information concerning a Russian Officer killed on the Kosova-Albanian Border
Moscow, May 22, (Kosovapress) The Russian news agency, ORTI, has identified, Vitalin Gregov, a Russian Officer who has died in the Junik region of the Kosova Albania border region, and reported: The killed Russian Captain who was serving the Yugoslav army had served in previous campaigns in Chechnia and Central Asia. ORIT adds that Gregov left the Russian Army in 1997 to join the Yugoslav army and was reportedly identified as a criminal and mentally ill by authorities in Russia.
A few days earlier, the Russian newspaper, "Moskovskaja Vrjeme," reported that more than 12,000 Russian soldiers, include high ranking officers, all graduates of the Soviet military academy have gone to Serbia. The newspaper also mentioned the accompaniment of 2000 Russian women who would serve the various needs of the troops. In a televised interview provided by ORTI, a Russian Officer who has been in Belgrade since 1997 working with the Serb army, called for his former classmates at the Soviet military academy to join him in Yugoslavia. According to eyewitnesses inside Kosova, there are a number of these Russian officers already, many who are known to have served in earlier conflicts in Afghanistan, Chechnia, Croatia and Bosnia. Inhabitants of Kosova are afraid of these individuals for they have committed a number of crimes, including murder, rape, and the plunder of Kosovar homes. Reports suggest these Russian officers are paid between two and three thousand US dollars a month by the Serbian government to commit such crimes in Kosova.

Montenegrins step up opposition to Yugoslav military Proud of independence: Draft-dodging abounds among armed civilians

Patrick Graham National Post, with files from Reuters CETINJE, Montenegro - Resistance to Slobodan Milosevic, the Yugoslav president, and his policies broke into the open yesterday as the people of Cetinje took to the streets.

They were protesting against the recent deployment of Yugoslav army reservists and heavy artillery around Montenegro's ancient capital, believing the move is designed to pressure Serbia's defiant sister republic.

It was the first anti-army demonstration in Montenegro since the start of the Kosovo crisis and coincided with growing tension between the civilian and military authorities over who should control the borders. Cetinje is already notorious as a centre of resistance to conscription -- of the 6,000 to 7,000 locals eligible to serve in the Yugoslav army, as few as 60 have answered the call.

Some civilians have begun their own armed resistance and there have been several instances of vigilantes chasing away the army.

Yesterday, men, women, and children, some waving red and white flags traditionally carried by Montenegrins into battle, gathered outside the city hall to hear emotional calls for the soldiers to leave the surrounding mountains.

"If the government does not find a way of protecting us, then for sure the people of Cetinje will find a way," said local resident Milo Dapcevic, to loud cheers from the crowd.

Local officials say that this week about 1,200 Serb reservists unexpectedly arrived in the region, bringing with them cannon and tanks, which they have trained on the small town.

The government estimates more than 20,000 Yugoslav troops are stationed across Montenegro, taking their orders directly from Belgrade.

"I cannot sleep at night because of you adults with weapons in your hands who are wandering through our city. I ask you to go back to your homes where your children are waiting for you," nine-year-old Svjetlana Martinovic told yesterday's demonstration.

Cetinje's mayor, Savo Paraca, added that his town was effectively under siege. "The situation is pretty tense," he said. "You never know what the Yugoslav army is up to, but it is impossible to frighten the people of Cetinje."

The government has urged locals, many of whom own guns, to act with restraint and not respond to army "provocations." Demonstrators said they did not want to fight, but would respond if attacked.

"We will not allow the Serbian occupation troops to make a victory march through Cetinje," said Dragan Radulovic, a 33-year-old cafe owner who has received three call-up notices. Every adult male in Cetinje, he explained, owns several guns, including not only hunting rifles, but "all kinds of guns -- anything that can be carried," he said.

"Montenegrins have always been attached to their weapons," said Mr. Radulovic as he sat outside his cafe earlier this week.

"There is a cult of weapons here, but only for self-defence."

A recent attempt by the army to conscript some of the town's citizens failed when armed paramilitaries confronted the military police and gave them, according to Mr. Radulovic, "10 minutes to leave town."

Many here believe that Belgrade is using the draft as a way of gaining power in preparation for a coup against the Montenegrin government, which has so far managed to stay aloof from the conflict in neighbouring Kosovo.

Most of the heavily armed population view the Second Yugoslav Army as an occupying force. Unlike much of Montenegro, the mountain stronghold of Cetinje was never captured by the Ottoman Empire and its citizens pride themselves on their independence. As a dozen 19th-century former embassies attest, it was once an important European capital until Montenegro was amalgamated with Serbia in 1919.

Today, it's a sleepy town of 16,000 residents, with few industries but a lot of cafes and museums. Its inhabitants have the reputation in Montenegro for living the good life, with little concern for the outside world.

Traditionally, the men have referred to each other as "king," but since the conflict began they now dub each other "major" or "general."

Fearing this independent spirit, the army began basing reservists around Cetinje over last weekend, greatly increasing tensions in the town. Bearded reservists carrying knives have been seen wandering around in groups of 20 as the local population eyed them suspiciously.

Looking like an off-duty Green Beret with his military haircut and red jogging suit, Mr. Radulovic guarded his cafe, named after a crusading knight, refusing to serve anyone in the army.

"Ninety percent of the cafes, won't let them sit down," he said, scrutinizing a group of reservists walking by. "I threw out a few officers last week."

Like many in Cetinje, Mr. Radulovic thinks Montenegro will become independent from Yugoslavia once the war is over, but for the moment he is most concerned about the reservists.

"We are all worried," he said. "But we are ready."

Elsewhere in Montenegro, police regularly protect journalists and government officials, including ministers, in case they are confronted by military police attempting to enforce Yugoslav Army draft notices.

Dragan Sac, the minister of justice, and Novak Kilidarda, a deputy prime minister, have both publicly refused the draft and travel with armed bodyguards.

The Montenegrin government's opposition to Mr. Milosevic has also created a relatively safe haven for rock stars and opposition figures claiming political repression in Serbia, including the country's main opposition politician, Zoran Djindjic.

Fearing for his life, Mr. Djindjic fled Belgrade two weeks ago and is accompanied in Montenegro by large, heavily armed bodyguards.

It had been impossible for him to get permission for his bodyguards to carry weapons in Belgrade, he said, despite at least one high-profile political assassination in the capital. He plans to spend the rest of the war in Montenegro.

With the military requiring everyone from 16 to 60 to register with the army, it is not uncommon to meet draft dodgers who move from apartment to apartment to avoid the military police.


Anti-Yugoslav protest in Montenegro

Open opposition to the Yugoslav troop presence in Montenegro By South-East Europe analyst Gabriel Partos

More than 1,000 inhabitants of the town of Cetinje, in the Yugoslav republic of Montenegro, have demonstrated against the presence of Yugoslav army reinforcements recently deployed in the area.

The protest was the first of its kind in Montenegro since Nato launched its campaign of air strikes against Yugoslavia two months ago.

Many inhabitants of the town - which is Montenegro's former capital - believe the troop presence is designed to intimidate the local population.

Pro-independence stronghold

Local officials say Cetinje - a stronghold of Montenegro's pro-independence activists - is in practical terms under siege from the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army.

But Montenegrin hostility to the Yugoslav armed forces goes beyond the boundaries of Cetinje. This is mainly because the military are seen as serving the interests of the Serbian leadership and not those of Montenegro.

Last month, several hundred dockworkers in the port of Bar protested against the presence of the Yugoslav navy in their port.

Naval blockade

Since then, the navy has imposed a partial blockade on Montenegro's ports. The army has also stepped up its controls along Montenegro's borders.


These measures prompted Montenegro's pro-Western President Milo Djukanovic to renew his criticism of the Yugoslav army.

He has accused army commanders of putting pressure on Montenegro on the instructions of the Yugoslav President, Slobodan Milosevic.

Mr Djukanovic has opposed Serbia's war against the Kosovo Albanians, and the majority of Montenegro's population is behind him.

Meanwhile, in Serbia itself, this week has seen the first protests against military service in Kosovo.

Women against war

In the course of these demonstrations, angry mothers and wives of reservists from the towns of Krusevac, Aleksandrovac and Cacak demanded that local reservists should be allowed to return home.

These demonstrations coincided with the first reports of apparent mass desertions from within the Yugoslav army.

Public opposition within Serbia to the war in Kosovo remains on a small scale.

But as President Milosevic faces up to Nato's continuing campaign of air strikes, he is also having to deal with more and more signs of trouble on the home front.



British seeking ground troops

They fear time is running out for Kosovo refugees

By Eric Schmitt and Michael R. Gordon New York Times News Service

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Britain is renewing its pressure on NATO allies to consider a ground attack in Kosovo so that refugees can return home before winter sets in. In separate appearances at NATO headquarters and with fellow foreign ministers from the European Union on Monday, Foreign Minister Robin Cook revived an earlier British proposal to send ground troops into Kosovo without a peace agreement. The troops would be sent after weeks more of allied air bombardment when Yugoslav forces were weakened to the point where they could only put up scattered resistance. Britain and France pressed the United States and other allies on the same plan three weeks ago, just before the meeting in Washington commemorating NATO's 50th anniversary. But the differences were so pronounced then that the issue was left off the formal agenda. The alliance agreed instead to step up the air campaign. Since then, the intensifying air attacks appear to have left the Yugoslav military weakened but unbowed. Given the time it would take to deploy a ground force, the British have become concerned that time is running out for a possible land attack that would help the refugees return Only about 22,000 British, French, German and American troops are in Macedonia and Albania, well below the number that NATO would need to wrest control of Kosovo from the 40,000 Yugoslav soldiers and police there. "Everybody is aware of the severity of the Balkan winter and that a military campaign in the Balkan winter is not a readily practical objective," Cook said Monday. Cook is going to Washington on Thursday, where he is expected to press his point with the Clinton administration. David Leavy, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said the United States is opposed to ground troops. "The U.S. position is clear," Leavy said. "We're steadfast against this." German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Germany, too, opposed the deployment of ground troops. "Germany believes that sending in ground troops is unthinkable. This is our position and it won't change in the future," he said in Bari, Italy. Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema said an "invasion" of Kosovo was unthinkable. "Today there are not the political premises to discuss deploying ground troops," he said. That could only take place with United Nations approval, he added. Criticism of the current NATO campaign came Monday from retired Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the gulf war, who said that NATO might have achieved victory earlier if it had not excluded using ground forces against the Yugoslavs in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova said Tuesday in Brussels that independence is the only solution for his people and the political agreement he signed in March providing for autonomy was only a temporary compromise. "The best thing for us is independence," Rugova said after a half-hour meeting with NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana, adding that the "priority of all priorities is the return of the people." His stance on independence is not clear. At some stops he appears to be demanding independence, at others he cites the agreement worked out in Rambouillet, France, in February that calls for autonomy for Kosovo within Serbia. Ethnic Albanians signed that accord; the Serbs did not. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder made an unexpected trip to Italy and Finland Monday, increasing speculation that Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari is taking a central role in a European-led solution to the Kosovo crisis. Finland is not a NATO member but has close ties to Russia. The Serbs and Russians share cultural and religious traditions. Meanwhile, a new trainload of Kosovo refugees arrived at the border with Macedonia on Tuesday, one day after a similar train was turned back by the Serbs. Reporters at the Blace crossing saw ethnic Albanians crossing the neutral zone and passing Macedonian border controls. They were directed to a holding refugee camp at the crossing. A family of about 15 members was among the first to cross. They said the train had four or five carriages and they put the number of people on it at about 1,000. One family member said they were on the train that Serbian police turned back Monday. They spent the night in the southern Kosovo town of Urosevac. On Monday, a spokesman for the UNHCR refugee agency said the train carried up to 2,000 people.


INTERVIEW WITH ARCHBISHOP OF BELGRADE

Archbishop of Belgrade Offers Proposals for Peace

BELGRADE, May 18 (ZENIT).- In a spontaneous interview with the Italian newspaper "Avvenire," the Archbishop of Belgrade, Franc Perko, expressed his firm and convincing opinion of the refugee crisis in Kosovo.

"The refugees should return to their homes immediately -- the Archbishop said -- because, if they don't do it now, they never will. We've seen it happen in Bosnia. After five years, they find a way to establish themselves. They should return before the end of June."

-- But will Milosevic accept that proposal?

ARCHBISHOP PERKO: That's the whole point . Both sides are on a dead end street. Milosevic says: end the bombings and I'll negotitate. NATO says: First, pull out your troops and then we'll end the attacks. That's why the role of the Russians is important, the fact that they have accepted the G-8 declaration, which is the only way out. There's a need for a third party and Russia is the best suited for the job. I've even begun to understand that, in these circumstances, a certain "pressure" needs to be applied.

-- Do you mean military pressure?

ARCHBISHOP PERKO: I mean that the fact that some Western countries have called for the end of the bombings contributes to Milosevic's own resistance, because it takes the pressure off him, because it gives him hope that NATO will become divided. These unilateral calls for peace, in reality, only prolong the war. If the NATO bombings ended right now, the Yugoslavian army would remain in Kosovo. And the KLA guerillas could last for decades, because all the [Kosovo] Albanians support them.

-- So then, you're in favor of the use of force?

ARCHBISHOP PERKO: No, I'm against it. Like the Holy Father, I'm convinced that the Kosovo question can be resolved without war. It's a pity that Milosevic doesn't understand that. The West's position is more in favor of the Serbs than the [Kosovo] Albanians.

-- In what way?

ARCHBISHOP PERKO: Because the West recognizes the border of Serbia as untouchable and, as a result, will never allow the independence of Kosovo. This is also the position of the Pope. It's the position of the Bishop of Prizren. When the KLA tried to arm the Catholics of Kosovo, the Bishop didn't allow it. We Catholics are in favor of autonomy, but not independence. We support Rugova, but not the KLA.

-- But how can the Kosovo Albanians live under Serbian rule after being massacred by them?

ARCHBISHOP PERKO: That's why a force of the U.N. must be in place. A serious, well-armed, international body which includes Russia, China,... But also NATO as well, of course.

-- Why NATO? Milosevic would never accept that.

ARCHBISHOP PERKO: Only NATO can disarm the KLA and guarantee the protection of the [Kosovo] Albanians. On the other hand, only NATO has the means to rebuild the houmes and temporary housing for them to return.

-- But a foreign occupation would cause the Serbs to protest the violation of their sovereignty.

ARCHBISHOP PERKO: No. International troops would never allow the independence of Kosovo. They would exercise a protectorate for a certain time. Of course, everyone, both Serbs and [Kosovo] Albanians, would have to be willing to make very important concessions... because they won't be able to do it on their own. This is another reason why the rest of the world, both East and West, should help them.

-- And would Milosevic accept that?

ARCHBISHOP PERKO: I don't know. I know he's a very shrewd negotiator. And I know that the key to the solution right now isn't in Washington, and not even in Moscow. It's in Belgrade. And you know what?: the KLA hasn't destroyed even one Orthodox church. In Bosnia the Serbs didn't leave one mosque standing, and there were a thousand.

-- Isn't this all rather discouraging?

ARCHBISHOP PERKO: I can't allow myself to be discouraged. I am the first person interested that this war comes to an end. I already handed in my resignation to the Holy Father. I have cancer, and I'd like to die in my native land, Slovenia, and the Vatican answered me saying: you can resign when this crisis is over.

I was operated on again in February. I lost a lot of blood and with that blood I made a pact with the Heavenly Father: if I can't go back to my homeland, then accept me into Heaven. But with out the seal of Peter, the pact isn't valid.

-- Are you really that much in a hurry to die?

ARCHBISHOP PERKO: My Catholic faithful, who once numbered 34,000 in the summer of 1987, are now less than 9,000. I only 5 Catholic Serbs, sons of mixed marriages, and even my faithful are in favor of Milosevic. It's the propaganda. The horrible myth of the Great Serbia is destroying Serbia. Yes, I'm tired of the Balkans, of this madhouse. I long for my Heavenly homeland.

NATO warplanes roar over Serbia despite Yugoslav protests

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia

Striking overnight and Saturday, NATO jets and missiles crippled a major power plant, destroyed a residence of President Slobodan Milosevic and hit dozens of tanks and other military targets in Kosovo province.

Much of Serbia was left in the dark by the attacks. One of the targets was the power plant in Kolubara, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of Belgrade, which supplies most of Belgrade, and central and northern Serbia.

Serbian media reported that four missiles struck the plant's main distribution center and a nearby transformer station, crippling it for weeks to come _ a situation that will likely lead to protracted power shortages over a wide area.

In a statement from its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, NATO said it had flown the most intensive night of sorties so far in the air campaign against Yugoslavia, attacking power installations, ammunition dumps, highway bridges, army barracks and a presidential retreat and leadership command and control center at Dobanovci, 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of Belgrade.

NATO officials said 40 targets were hit in Serbia, not including Kosovo. Struck in Kosovo were a dozen tanks, 18 military vehicles and nine artillery positions, said the statement. A total of 684 sorties were flown, including 245 strike sorties and 90 against air defense systems, it said.

«NATO aircraft took maximum advantage of the opening that was caused by better weather over Kosovo,» said alliance spokesman Jamie Shea.

Belgrade residents reported explosions from several outlying districts of the capital, including Lipovica forest, the suspected location of an anti-aircraft and military communications command post. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

Belgrade and much of the rest of Serbia was without power early Saturday. Besides the missile strikes on Kolubara, which reportedly left 13 people injured, NATO jets dropped carbon bombs, short-circuiting wires that conduct electricity.

Repair teams managed to restore power to Belgrade within hours, but the grid went down again a few hours later. Serbia's power company accused NATO of wanting to «cause a humanitarian catastrophe of major proportions» and urged citizens to conserve power, wherever restored.

Strikes continued Saturday amid continued attempts to end the Kosovo crisis through diplomacy.

Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who has met repeatedly over the past two weeks with Russian Balkans envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, briefed U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on his talks.

«On the main issues, we all see eye to eye,» he said after meeting Annan.

The talks have been based on a peace proposal outlined this month by the world's seven most developed industrial nations and Russia. The G8 proposal foresees a strong international peacekeeping force in Kosovo, but the Western countries have said the force should be NATO-led, while Russia has not publicly accepted NATO leadership.

In Belgrade, the state-run Tanjug news agency said NATO fired eight missiles into the southwestern Kosovo city of Prizren Saturday morning, after an earlier attack Friday night. The southern Serbian city of Leskovac was also targeted.

After air raid alerts several times during the day. After an alert before noon, Tanjug reported three missiles hitting the Makis suburb of the city, and a separate attack around Lipovica, southeast of Belgrade. Lipovica has a large army complex.

Other targets earlier Saturday included a fuel depot in Belgrade's Cukarica district, near the residences of six foreign ambassadors that were damaged in a Thursday night attack on the depot; Batajnica military airfield northwest of Belgrade, and unspecified military installations and a television transmitter on Mt. Fruska Gora in northern Serbia.

In the far north, near the Hungarian border, the town of Sombor was targeted. The state-run Tanjug news agency said an industrial zone and a fuel depot were hit. In the same region, a suburb of the town of Subotica came under attack.

To the south, in Kosovo, Tanjug said that at least 100 missiles were fired by NATO at different targets between 8:25 a.m. Friday and just after midnight Saturday.

At least 20 people were killed, more than 50 were wounded and «enormous damage» was caused, said Tanjug. It was apparently counting the 19 people reported killed on Friday, in what Serb news media said was an attack on a prison in the northwestern Kosovo town of Istok

The air bombardment is aimed at forcing Milosevic to withdraw his 40,000 Serb troops and special police from the Serbian province of Kosovo, permit the return of nearly 800,000 ethnic Albanian refugees who have fled or been expelled, and the deployment of NATO peacekeepers.

On Friday, NATO bombers attacked a jail at Istok in Kosovo, killing at least 19 people and injuring many more. Amid the strikes Milosevic called for an end to the air campaign and blamed NATO attacks on Kosovo for the exodus of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians.

NATO said it attacked a «security complex» at Istok _ and sent bombers back Friday night to slam two more missiles into the damaged building. Serb authorities said the 1,000-inmate jail held mainly sympathizers of the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army.

Breaking a week-long lull, a new tide of 3,700 refugees poured over the border from Kosovo into Albania on Friday. Many spoke of Serb security forces banging on their doors and ordering them to leave.

Some of the 800 refugees who crossed into Macedonia also described brutality, saying they had been driven from their villages and were finally ordered out Friday when they could not pay Serb police who demanded money and valuables. More refugees arrived in Macedonia Saturday _ the U.N. refugee agency said it expected as many as 5,000 by day's end.

After days of reports of mass desertions by Yugoslav army reservists, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said troops who returned to two central Serbian towns this week were just «regular soldiers returning home» as part of a reduction of Serbian forces in Kosovo.

The United States also says it has reports of large-scale desertions by Yugoslav army reservists and that there have also been reported anti-war demonstrations by soldiers.

In Cetinje, a town in Montenegro, which makes up Yugoslavia along with Serbia, about 5,000 people on Friday protested the recent Yugoslav army reinforcements around their city and demanded the military withdraw.

Allies Plan Ground Options

WASHINGTON

AP - Allied military leaders have an eye on the calendar as they plan for some kind of ground army in Kosovo, whether as peacekeepers, safeguarding the return of more than 1 million refugees, or as invaders.

NATO airstrikes could continue all summer, and with fall comes the onset of wintry weather in the Balkans. Most ethnic Albanian refugees are living in camps in neighboring Balkan countries or in the open in the Kosovo highlands.

``Obviously, everybody is looking at the calendar and looking at what must be done to get refugees back home before this bad weather sets in,'' Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon said Friday.

Despite NATO confidence that it is winning the 8-week-old air war over Kosovo, no one can guarantee that Kosovo will be safe by fall, Bacon said at a briefing.

NATO's top commander, Army Gen. Wesley Clark, told Defense Secretary William Cohen this week that without that guarantee, ``You have to be open to the possibility of looking at other options,'' Bacon said.

The alliance is simultaneously planning for a peacekeeping force of approximately 50,000 American and European troops in Kosovo and for the theoretical possibility that NATO would invade to restore order in the war-wracked Serb province.

There is no intent to use ground troops, only a continuing assessment of how many might be needed and under what circumstances, Pentagon officials insist.

Clark discussed both peacekeeping and invasion scenarios in private meetings with top Pentagon leaders Thursday, Bacon said, but the general did not request ground troops.

``What he talked about was the types of steps that would have to be taken if we were to pursue various ground options at future times,'' Bacon said.

Clark is mindful of the logistics involved in massing a large number of forces for any purpose and of the training that might precede use of ground troops, Bacon said.

``He just said that if you looked down several months out into the future, and you reach a point in August or September or October where we might want to deploy ground troops,'' Bacon said, ``what is the type of planning time frame that would be necessary in order to position NATO to do that?''

NATO leaders insist that air power alone can force the necessary concessions from Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and his Serb forces.

No NATO troops have died under hostile fire thus far in the campaign, although two American pilots were killed in a training accident aboard an Apache helicopter. Even a brief ground war would probably mean significant casualties.

NATO planes began bombing in March after diplomacy failed to stop Serb operations against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. Alliance officials and independent humanitarian groups claim a campaign of ethnic terror has involved systematic destruction of villages, mass executions and rape.

The Clinton administration wants an enlarged NATO peacekeeping force to assemble in Macedonia, on the border with Kosovo, ``as quickly as possible,'' Bacon said.

NATO's political body, the North Atlantic Council, is likely to discuss a plan early next week for a peacekeeping force of about 50,000 troops. The United States would probably contribute 7,000 to 8,000 troops, officials say.

Bacon said the U.S. part of the peacekeeping force could include the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit that is now afloat in the Adriatic with about 2,000 troops equipped with a variety of arms and aircraft.