Story No. Wide view of people on grass by house hosting refugees. Pull out from close up of walking stick to man sitting down. Bajram Curri. Various of Kimete Nitaj, mother with baby Clirim born on trek. The Albanian authorities have asked the international community to help as they struggle to cope with the influx of refugees from the troubled Kosovo region. An estimated thousand people have already fled across the border into Albania. The crisis looks set to worsen - ethnic Albanians have warned that tens of thousands of people are hiding in forests in Kosovo, waiting for a chance to escape the fighting.
The Kosovo refugees have piled into northern Albanian towns like Tropoje. They arrived following the long trek across the hills separating Albania from the Kosovo region. The refugees' escape route was long and arduous - at least two refugees died on the perilous journey. But their stay here in Tropoje gives both young and old a chance to rest after their ordeal.
But while Albanian officials continue to cope with the influx, they are already focused on the next concern - that the conditions could lead to the outbreak of disease. The U-N-H-C-R has sent around 25 tons of aid to the region - but the local authorities say that with more refugees arriving by the hour, supplies will soon run dry. Red Cross workers have been working to register the growing number of refugees. While many have headed for the local hospital, others have found accommodation in the local school - with some even sleeping in the schoolyard.
At the nearby town of Bajram Curri the story is the same. At the local hospital, doctors struggle to cope. One woman gave birth on Sunday during the trek from Kosovo. She and her baby, named Clirim which means "liberation" in Albanian , are now recovering at the hospital.
But the crisis looks set to worsen. Ethnic Albanians have warned that tens of thousands of people are hiding in forests in. Kosovo, waiting for a chance to escape to neighbouring Albania. As many as seven-thousand others have fled into Montenegro, the other republic left in what remains of Yugoslavia besides Serbia. The future of these refugees could rely on the response taken by the international community. In Brussels on Wednesday, NATO agreed to consider again whether to deploy combat troops to Albania and Macedonia, but indicated a decision was not imminent.
