By William Drozdiak
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, January 18, 1999; Page A17

BERLIN, Jan. 17—Faced with a resurgence of civil war in Kosovo, the NATO allies struggled today to prevent the volatile conflict in the Serbian region from spiraling out of control in the wake of the bloodiest massacre since fighting erupted there 11 months ago.

NATO ambassadors, meeting in Brussels, condemned the killing of 45 ethnic Albanians by Serbian security forces and dispatched the alliance's top two generals to warn Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic that the patience of Western governments was running out.

They called the killings a "flagrant violation of international humanitarian law."

With Western governments loath to approve military intervention that could embroil them in another Balkan war, they abstained from any substantive action that could halt the violence in Kosovo -- a province of Serbia, Yugoslavia's dominant republic.

NATO's chief military commander, U.S. Gen. Wesley Clark, and the chairman of its military committee, German Gen. Klaus Naumann, will travel to Belgrade in coming days to meet with Milosevic. But in the absence of any serious threat of airstrikes by the Western alliance, it appeared unlikely their mission would produce any change in behavior by Serbian security forces.

"Nobody likes the idea of taking military action against the Serbs, so we are taking a cautious and phased approach," said a senior NATO diplomat. "But it may become necessary at some point, because our credibility is on the line and the military option is the only thing that works with Milosevic."

In Washington, Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright welcomed the NATO statement, saying it demonstrated "the seriousness of the situation." She and other U.S. officials expressed hope that the explicit declaration that NATO'S military "activation order" of last fall remains in effect would get Milosevic's attention and make him recognize that NATO is once again prepared to intervene.

"Secretary Albright is encouraged by the strong statement and the strong message in the statement that NATO has just approved," said her spokesman, James P. Rubin. "She believes it appropriate to continue to marshal diplomatic pressure to convince President Milosevic and the Serbs to comply with obligations they have assumed, and she hopes that the gravity of the situation will be understood when General Clark and General Naumann of NATO go to Belgrade this week."

Earlier today, Rubin said it is crucial for Milosevic to understand that instead of issuing "hysterical, phony statements," he should ensure that the massacre is investigated and those responsible are brought to justice.

The U.N. war crimes tribunal's chief prosecutor, Louise Arbour,is scheduled to travel to Kosovo Monday to investigate the massacre.

Meanwhile, fighting near Racak, the Kosovo village where the ethnic Albanians were slain, forced mourners to stop their funeral services and join international monitors in fleeing to safety. Later in the day, Serbian forces sealed off other villages in southern Kosovo.

The massacre came after weeks of escalating military confrontations between Serbian security forces and Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas who claim to be fighting for the province's independence.

U.S. envoy Christopher Hill has been laboring for three months to broker a deal that would grant the ethnic Albanians -- who make up 90 percent of the population in Kosovo province -- substantial political autonomy if the rebels abandon their armed crusade.

NATO suspended its threat of airstrikes against Yugoslav military targets last October following an eleventh-hour peace deal cut by the U.S. envoy Richard C. Holbrooke. The "activation order" that authorized NATO military commanders to launch bombing strikes has never been lifted, but NATO officials said any decision to proceed with bombing raids was not imminent.

As his part of the bargain, Milosevic agreed to reduce the presence of Serbian security forces in the province and open serious talks on power-sharing arrangements with Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership. But truce violations have been mounting in recent weeks as both sides appear to be gearing up for renewed warfare.

Milosevic has spurned earlier promises that were central to the cease-fire by redeploying army and special police units in Kosovo that were supposed to be withdrawn. He has also defied the Western alliance by re-equipping Serbian forces with armor and heavy weapons to conduct military sweeps against Kosovo Liberation Army rebels.

NATO diplomats acknowledged Milosevic may have been emboldened by Western capitals' recent preoccupation with the Iraq crisis and the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton. They also noted that Milosevic may have felt compelled to shore up his standing with his own military leadership by ordering a harsh response against recent rebel attacks, including the kidnapping by rebels of several Serbian soldiers, who were released from captivity last week.

The latest upheaval occurs at a distressing time for the Western military alliance, which is trying to chart the scope of its mission in the 21st century. The new strategy is supposed to be unveiled at a 50th anniversary gathering of alliance leaders in Washington in April, at which Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic will be inducted into the alliance.

"Our worst fears are coming true," said a senior U.S. policymaker in Washington. "Just when we need to concentrate our energies on delicate negotiations for a future mission statement we are being hit with a new crisis in Kosovo."

NATO's options appear unpalatable in many respects. In the wake of the agonizing debate last October, several European states remain reluctant to approve airstrikes without explicit authority from the U.N. Security Council. That prospect appears unlikely, given staunch opposition by Russia and China -- two of the council's five permanent members -- against any outside military intervention within Yugoslavia's borders.

Until Friday's massacre, some NATO governments were inclined to blame the Kosovo Liberation Army for stirring up trouble by ambushing Serbian forces.

NATO has withdrawn from the Balkan region most of the 300 planes mobilized by allied nations last October for possible bombing raids. Military sources said only 80 planes are now in the theater and that any order to proceed with preparations for airstrikes would require several days to reassemble the armada.

Moreover, military experts question the enduring value of airstrikes against Serbian military targets without any intervention by NATO ground forces to enforce a cease-fire and disarm the combatants. But there appears to be little desire among NATO governments to dispatch troops to another Balkan hot spot when more than 30,000 NATO peacekeeping forces are still deployed in Bosnia.

Staff writer Thomas W. Lippman in Washington contributed to this report.