Rights groups urges EU halt to Roma deportations

A rights group says European countries should stop deporting Romas and other minorities into Kosovo where they face discrimination and human rights abuse.

Human Rights Watch said in a report published Thursday minorities forced to return to Kosovo from Western Europe struggle to access "housing, health care, employment, and social welfare services." The report comes as European leaders meet in Brussels, Belgium to discuss on how to deal with the issue of Roma, or Gypsies, that has topped agendas since France expelled in recent months over 1,000 Roma immigrants and demolished hundreds of illegal Roma camps.

Kosovo, which formally broke away from Serbia in 2008, remains one of the poorest nations in Europe.