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New wave of refugees pours into Macedonia
April 26, 1999 BLACE, Macedonia (CNN) -- Thousands of Kosovo refugees poured across the border Monday into Macedonia, heading toward camps already at capacity. "The problem is we have no place to put these people anymore. We have no way to deal with this," said Paula Ghedini, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. "We have the tents. That's not a problem, but we don't have the land to put them up." Ghedini said that 3,000 refugees arrived Monday at Blace on one train and 15 buses. And Macedonian state radio said that up to 30,000 more are headed for the borders. "The whole population of Urosevac and neighboring villages is moving toward Macedonia," the radio said in a report that could not be confirmed. The influx has begun to take its toll on the refugees' hosts as well. Macedonian Economic Minister Zanko Cado resigned Monday, saying his country wasn't receiving the help it needed to deal with the swelling population. Relief agencies have estimated that about 600,000 ethnic Albanians have fled or been expelled from Kosovo since NATO's bombing campaign began March 24. Hundreds of thousands more are reported to be displaced within the Serb province. Many of the refugees brought with them stories of rape and murder associated with being forced from their homes. "We watched the soldiers in the forest shoot five old people," said one man. "I saw this with my own eyes." Others said Serb forces used them as shields against NATO attacks. "Several people came from Prizren, and some of their stories suggested that human shield reports have substantial foundation," said UNCHR spokesman Kris Janowski in Geneva. Correspondent Bill Hemmer contributed to this report. RELATED STORIES: Yugoslav official says compromise needed RELATED SITES: Extensive list of Kosovo-related sites:
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