English/Nat Kosovo's capital, Pristina, is experiencing an epidemic of kidnappings of young women. In recent weeks, dozens of woman have been snatched from the city's streets. It is thought the women are being taken by criminal gangs from Albania, who are then forcing them to work as prostitutes in western Europe. K-FOR, the international peacekeeping force, has stepped up its nightly patrols, in an attempt to combat the kidnappings. The men of the British Royal Green Jackets are setting out for a nightly patrol of Pristina's streets. The soldiers are part of K-FOR, the international peacekeeping force, which has been in Kosovo since the end of NATO's bombing campaign in July. The troops originally went in to secure the battle-ravaged province and to try to prevent any more outbreaks of inter-ethnic violence. The capital, Pristina, had been a violent and lawless place for months. But in recent weeks, crime has soared, partly because of power cuts which have plunged its streets into darkness every night. As a result, K-FOR stepped up its nightly patrols in an attempt to deal with the upsurge. There are now roadblocks every 500 metres (550 yards) on main streets, where cars are stopped and searched. The British troops on patrol tonight are searching in particular for men preying on young women. Their aim is to bring to an end an epidemic of kidnapping which is sweeping Kosovo's capital. Young women have been disappearing at an alarming rate. It is thought they have been taken by gangs of criminals who are crossing into Kosovo from neighbouring Albania. There have been no ransom demands. Instead, sources among the U-N police say the victims are taken to Germany, Italy and Switzerland, which have large Albanian communities. There they are forced to work as prostitutes. Despite the inconvenience, Pristina's citizens have been giving the soldiers as much help as possible. They're eager to see an end to the abductions, SOUNDBITE: (English) "They're extremely helpful, the majority of them are pleased to see us, appreciate why we're doing the car searches and are very helpful. Obviously there's the odd one who's probably been searched already that night but as a whole everyone's helpful and as soon we've explained to them why we're doing this they fully understand and appreciate what we're up to." SUPER CAPTION: Lieutenant Sebastian Mark, Royal Green Jackets The soldiers are having to carry out the searches as an addition to the task which has taken up much of their time up to now - protecting local Serbs from revenge attacks from ethnic Albanians. Tonight they are calling on one Serb family. The three people who reside here, a mother and her two children, are among 450 Serbs who still live in Pristina. The woman's husband, who had been a policeman, abandoned them when the Yugoslav army pulled out of the province. Now they live like prisoners. K-FOR soldiers visit four times a day, bringing food and other supplies. If the family wants to go out for any reason they must have an armed escort to protect them. Tonight everything is well here. Back on the streets the soldiers visit an ethnic Albanian bar, in an attempt to win the locals' trust and to try to gather more information on the kidnappings. The U-N police force for Kosovo should be carrying out this work. But there are only 18-hundred of them, instead of the six-thousand there should be. And so it falls to K-FOR to try to prevent the abductions. Pristina's citizens saw much suffering at the hands of the Yugoslav army. Despite K-FOR's presence, that misery continues, although now it is criminals from Albania who are inflicting it. You can license this story through AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/606d032c6d606257d069f0128de11800 Find out more about AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

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