they haven`t arrived in any neighbouring towns or safe areas," said Paula Ghedini, press officer for the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR). "... we have found campsites without any people. At these camp sites we discovered plastic sheeting, jerry cans, clothing, food and personal belongings. IDP`s (Internally Displaced Persons) do not leave these items unless they`ve been forced to flee further or use the camps to come back to at night." UNHCR identified the four villages as Ivaja, Straza, Ljoc and Pustenik and said 800 to 1,000 people had lived in each. The settlements sit to the west of Kacanik, a town 16kms north of the Macedonian border on the main highway to Pristina. Serbian security forces have been exchanging fire with guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in the area around Kacanik for several weeks, stampeding thousands of civilians from their homes. UNHCR reported on Tuesday that about 8,000 people had been displaced from their homes in the Kacanik area recently, including about 2,000 who crossed into Macedonia as refugees. Those numbers were made available before fighting reached the vicinity of the four villages of current concern. Most of those previously displaced found shelter in schools or the homes of friends or relatives. But having so many people unaccounted for in an area of active conflict is worrying U.N. officials.