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This refugee was injured after stepping on a land mine near his home  MILITARY PLAN: RELATED VIDEO CNN's Jill Dougherty reports that it is back to business for Russia and the United States. (June 20) Windows Media 28K 80K The people of Prizren are getting back to business. CNN's Mike Boettcher reports on how they are adjusting to life after war (June 20) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Christiane Amanpour reports on how Albanians survived in the hills (June 20) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Jim Clancy reports on the destruction refugees are finding when they return home. (June 20) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K  ALSO: Kosovo rebels agree to demilitarize  MESSAGE BOARD: Rebuilding Kosovo  IN-DEPTH SPECIAL: Focus on Kosovo

June 20, 1999
Web posted at: 9:30 p.m. EDT (0130 GMT)

In this story: Critics say NATO not doing enough Hungry Kosovars raided own villages RELATED STORIES, SITES

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- Risking life and limb, ethnic Albanians continued racing back in droves to their villages in Kosovo. But a handful never made it back, some of the increasing number of victims killed or maimed by hidden hazards along the way.

Thousands have left border state refugee camps or Kosovar hill hideaways each day to trek home on foot, in tractors or in cars. But over the last three days, at least 10 land mine detonations have taken place in the province, with deadly results.

Two women triggered a mine near Orosevac, killing three, an official with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said Sunday. In Gradica, two people had their feet amputated after a mine exploded. In Pristina, the provincial Kosovar capital, eight mine accidents have taken place, according to the UNHCR.

"The danger is out there," warned UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond on Sunday in Brussels. "If you don't know the condition of your village, don't go back."

Redmond urged displaced Kosovars to wait until U.N. assessment teams, combing the province by vehicle and by air, determined they could return safely.

Critics say NATO not doing enough

Some humanitarian activists charge that NATO, leading the KFOR peacekeeping mission in the province, has not done enough to eliminate all the deadly devices possibly hidden by Serb forces before they departed.

"What kind of security can people have if there's a mine waiting for them in their house or in their garden?" asked Christopher Stokes of Doctors Without Borders.

"We believe that demining to the front gate -- but leaving traps in homes -- does not give people security," he said.

Refugees are returning en masse despite the risks. Over the last five days, more than 100,000 refugees crossed the border from Albania and Macedonia, said the UNHCR's office. About 700,000 Kosovar Albanian refugees have not returned. More than half of those are in Albania.

Hungry Kosovars raided own villages

More Kosovars who had hidden for weeks in the province descended from mountains and hills on Sunday. They painted a picture of desperate survival in the woods as they scrambled to find food and avoid Serb guns. One man said 500 people in Turia survived on bread alone.

Others fashioned shelters from tree limbs, drew water from springs and raided their own villages -- controlled by Serbs during the conflict -- at night in search of food. One man managed to bring his honey bees, but mostly they survived on bread.

Although the Kosovar Albanians are returning home, overcoming hunger remains one of their most daunting challenges. Constant civil war has prevented Kosovars from cultivating crops in much of the province for more than a year.

The UNHCR is taking part in an ambitious aid program for the Kosovars with dozens of humanitarian organizations.

One is the World Food Program, which plans to feed 800,000 people inside Kosovo. Unable to drive trucks on many of the roads, the WFP on Sunday used helicopters to deliver food supplies to some villagers -- a drop in the bucket for a province devastated by war.

Correspondents Richard Blystone, and Christiane Amanpour contributed to this report.

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