WORLD IN BRIEF : GREECE : Albanians Deported in Immigrant Sweep

Greece deported 350 Albanians after announcing it would carry out a nationwide sweep to round up and expel hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants. But police said the deportations were not part of the mass expulsions announced earlier this week. Authorities have blamed the immigrants for rising crime in Greece. Albania’s deputy minister of public order, Astrit Mehja, said his countrymen were being targeted and had not even been allowed to pick up their belongings before being forced across the border. Government agencies estimate that 500,000 foreigners have illegally entered Greece over the past three years. Police say there are about 150,000 Albanians living illegally in Greece. Thousands have been sneaking across the border since communism collapsed in Albania two years ago. Although 90,000 were expelled in 1990, thousands continue to cross into Greece.