Serbs on uncertain road to peace

BELGRADE: In the first sign of a military pullout, about 120 Yugoslav troops in a convoy of trucks and buses were seen leaving Kosovo today.

Foreign reporters taken to a border post at Merdara saw the small convoy roll out of Kosovo, and a Serb army officer there blamed constant NATO bombing for the 8220;slow pace8221; of withdrawals since Yugoslavia announced a partial pullout had been ordered on Sunday.

NATO, which has rejected as unverified the Yugoslav troop withdrawal statement, has stepped up bombing raids on the some 40,000 Serb troops and military police deployed in Kosovo, part of Yugoslavia8217;S dominant Serb republic.