On her first attempt to get here last December, the family narrowly escaped death when her refugee convoy was attacked by Russian helicopters, she said.

She joined a refugee convoy travelling 200 miles to Split on the Adriatic coast.

The men were pulled from refugee convoys at a checkpoint in Meja and their families were ordered to proceed to Albania.

On December 3, about 40 people died when a refugee convoy attempting to leave besieged areas was fired on by a group of masked special forces troops.

After hitting a refugee convoy three weeks ago, American pilots now have to radio for authorization to strike if there is any doubt about a target.

But Mr. Cohen argued that the refugee convoy was a special case.

In October 1999 the border with Ingushetia was closed down by the Russian military and a refugee convoy bombed after being turned away.

Numbly she made rendezvous with the refugee convoy.

One refugee convoy passed row on row of white conical hats set atop fence posts.

Russia closed the border; one of the refugee convoys from Grozny was bombed after being turned back.