OSAKA -- A group of eight people who fled the war-torn Yugoslav province of Kosovo filed applications with the Osaka Immigration Bureau on Monday requesting refugee status.

The eight, including 55-year-old Taha Dellovac and his daughter and son-in-law, arrived in Japan on July 30 on a 90-day family-visit visa. Dellovac's son, Ramo Dellovac, is married to a Japanese woman and currently lives in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture.

They are currently living in an apartment run by the municipality.

Ramadan Osamanaj, the husband of Ramo's elder sister, said that although they returned to Kosovo after the NATO forces moved in, their homes had been destroyed and the area was booby-trapped with mines. Unexploded bombs posed another hazard, he said.

There were also rumors that well water had been poisoned, he said, adding that members of his family had returned to Albania. He voiced hopes that they can live a peaceful life here in Japan.

The five-member family of Ramo's younger sister also arrived in Japan in May and applied for refugee status in late June.