The NATO operations in the Balkans that began on March 24 seem to- Have" done" more Harm than good to the Kosovars of Albanian descent. Enraged by raids on their different military installations, the Serbs have embarked on well-organised and orchestrated campaign of expulsion. Thousands of ethnic Albanians are crammed in trains to Macedonia or buses to Albania, and offloaded near the borders. There on the long journey on foot begins. So far, more than six hundred thousand Kosovars have already deserted their homes. More are on the way. Columns of terrifled, weeping people, stretching for several kilometres, have been formed at the borders. •

The ethnic Albanians wanted peace. The NATO offensive was designed to force President Slobodan Milosevic to stop the carnage in Kosovo and agree to a peace deal granting the southern Serbian province autonomy. Now, peace is nowhere in sight and gone are their homes. The crisis has transcended the borders of Yugoslavia and poured over to the adjoining countries. While the United States remains adamant to bring Milosevic down on his knees, its sentiments have intensified following the capture of three American soldiers and the refugee situation in Albania and Macedonia is reaching a nightmare proportion. The stranded thousands are in desperate need of food and medicine but supply is inadequate. The UNHCR and different human rights organisation are at a loss to reach out. On the whole, the scenario tells of an imminent humanitarian disaster.

This paper, in its editorial comment immediately after NATO launched its airstrikes, observed that only diplomatic, not military manoeuvres could resolve the crisis in the Balkans. Consequences of NATO's raids in the shape of renewed and reinvigorated Serbian atrocities on the ethnic Albanians only go to prove our point. We earnestly hope that the ethnic cleansing will be forced into a halt and the refugees guaranteed safe haven in their own country.