War in the Balkans: Dossier of atrocitiespounds 583,000 to aid the refugees

MONEY CONTINUES to pour into The Independent appeal to help the refugees of Kosovo. The total has reached an amazing pounds 583,000.

"We had another good mail delivery on Monday morning and we're delighted that the money is still coming in," said a spokesman for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), the body co-ordinating the appeal. "Independent readers' generosity is astounding."

The money will buy food, blankets, first-aid, emergency shelters, sanitation and water purification equipment.

More than 600,000 Kosovar Albanians have fled or been forced from their homes by the Serbs. Nearly 140,000 are in massive camps at the Macedonian capital, Skopje, and 350,000 are in Albania.

Over the weekend, 40,000 more flooded in and thousands are living rough in the cold, wet hills in Kosovo. An estimated 15,000 refugees have been airlifted to countries in the West.