La dichiarazione del portavoce di Annan rilasciata il 22 marzo 1999

Ecco il testo integrale della dichiarazione che l'ufficio stampa dell'Onu ha titolato: "Secretary-General Gravely Concerned at Escalation of Violence in Kosovo

"The Secretary-General is gravely concerned at the escalation of violence in Kosovo. He is particularly alarmed that the humanitarian situation has seriously deteriorated during the past week due to the ongoing offensive by Yugoslav security forces with intensified fighting between them and Kosovar Albanian paramilitary units.

"In addition to 269,000 refugees in Western Europe and neighbouring countries, the number of those displaced within Kosovo has now reached 235,000 civilians, including 25,000 who have fled their homes since 20 March. Displacement has been accompanied by renewed burning of houses by the security forces and destruction of means of livelihood. Increasing insecurity has led most humanitarian agencies to reduce their presence in Kosovo over the past 48 hours. Nevertheless, the delivery of humanitarian aid continues.

"The Secretary-General urges the Yugoslav authorities to halt their military offensive in Kosovo, which clearly violates the ceasefire agreement of last October, and to act to alleviate the humanitarian situation and, even at this late hour, to cooperate fully with the members of the Contact Group in their efforts to prevent further confrontation and reach a settlement in Kosovo".