March 27, 1999
Web posted at: 4:35 p.m. EST (2135 GMT)

SKOPJE, Macedonia (CNN) -- Refugees crossing the border from Kosovo into Macedonia told CNN on Saturday that Yugoslav and Serb forces are cracking down on ethnic Albanians even as they battle NATO airstrikes.

Meanwhile, Kosovo Liberation Army leaders called for swift intervention by NATO ground troops to stop Serb attacks in Kosovo.

"The only language this (Yugoslav) regime understands is the language of force," said Jashar Salihu, a KLA political representative in Brussels.

In Berlin, KLA commander Ramush Hajredinaj said NATO ground troops were necessary to prevent "a true humanitarian catastrophe" in Kosovo.

Allied jets and cruise missiles struck at Yugoslavia for a fourth day Saturday, but NATO officials reiterated that the alliance had no plans to use ground troops in the conflict.

NATO officials hope the airstrikes will force Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to sign a peace agreement that will end a year of bloody ethnic strife in Kosovo. They say the Yugoslav offensive in Kosovo must stop before the bombing ends.

Fewer refugees escaping

Fewer refugees are making it across borders as the fighting steps up in Kosovo, said Julia Taft, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration.

"What we're hearing is that very few are able to leave Kosovo right now," Taft said. "There is intensive fighting within Kosovo, near the Macedonian border and near Albania, which is preventing people from being able to escape."

More than a quarter of a million people have been displaced by a year of fighting in Kosovo, Taft said, and she projected the number could go as high as half a million before the conflict ends.

Of those who have made it out of Kosovo, about 18,500 have gone to Macedonia; another 13,000 have entered Bulgaria and Turkey; and about 20,000 have left for Albania, she said.

Correspondents Patricia Kelly, Chris Burns and Andrea Koppel contributed to this report.

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