Roma agree to remain in former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - UN agency

Hundreds of Kosovo Roma who had been camping near the border between the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Greece for nearly three months have now agreed to remain in the Republic, following negotiations including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The group of 668 agreed to leave the border village of Medzitlija where they had been camping since 19 May in an unsuccessful bid to enter the European Union, UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski said today in Geneva. This follows months of talks involving the refugees themselves, the Macedonian Government, the European Union, local organizations and UNHCR.

They were moved to the Macedonian capital Skopje and the city of Kumanovo over the weekend. Out of the group, 122 persons were accommodated in the Katlanovo collective centre, 254 in private accommodation in the Skopje region, while 292 were taken to a temporary transit shelter in Kumanovo, Mr. Janowski added.

Thousands of Roma fled to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in 1999 as Serbian forces pulled out of Kosovo, fearing revenge attacks by Kosovo Albanians who accused them of siding with the Serbs. Some have since gone back to Kosovo or moved to Serbia proper but more than 2,500 remain in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.