World Notes YUGOSLAVIA

Day after day, police and irate ethnic Albanians clashed in Yugoslavia's southern Kosovo province as the demonstrators protested their domination by the Serbian republic, of which Kosovo is a part. By the end of last week at least 20 people were dead, and the Yugoslav daily Vecernje Novosti warned, "Kosovo is a step away from civil war."

The unrest began late last month, when 40,000 Albanians took to the streets of Pristina, Kosovo's capital, demanding the resignation of local leaders, free elections and the release of political prisoners. Kosovo's 1.7 million Albanians, who out-number Serbs and Montenegrins in the region almost 10 to 1, last flooded the streets eleven months ago, when Serbia tightened its grip on the nominally autonomous province. That decision triggered riots that left 28 dead.

Serbian nationalists last week pressured the central government to firmly squelch the uprising. The eight-man State Presidency promised unspecified security measures. Soon after, troops, tanks and air force jets were deployed throughout Kosovo.