AT A GLANCE
- Refugee in Albania says Serbian police gathered Kosovars
and placed them in a factory at Korisa which was subsequently hit during a NATO airstrike.
- Around 2,500 refugees enter the FYR of Macedonia in a new
wave of arrivals from Kosovo.
- More than 1,000 Kosovars cross into Montenegro over four
days; UNHCR transports to Ulcinj 83 of the 106 Kosovo men arrested over the weekend at the
Montenegro-Albania border and subsequently released in Serbia.
- 1,128 refugees were flown out of the FYR of Macedonia left
Tuesday, bringing departures under humanitarian evacuation program to more than 52,600.
Major Developments
ALBANIA
Only one refugee crossed the border at Morini Tuesday, and
he had an interesting tale to tell.
His family was from Korisa, the village east of Prizren
recently hit by a NATO airstrike. He told UNHCR field staff that around two months ago,
while he was at work in Prizren, his family fled to the nearby hills with many other
villagers.
Recently, after being harassed by Serbian shelling in the
forest and lack of food, his family and other villagers were forced to return to their
homes.
After they had returned, police rounded up many villagers
and put them in the compound of a factory workshop. The police later withdrew from the
compound but continued to guard the villagers "from a distance."
The compound was eventually hit by NATO strikes. Many
people were killed, he said, and members of his family were wounded and hospitalized in
Prizren, where he visited them.
He had continued to work in the town during this entire
episode. After the incident at Korisa, he was arrested by police and detained for three
days at a police station where he was beaten with a metal stick on his feet.
Accused of being affiliated with the Kosovo Liberation
Army, he was taken from Prizren to the border Tuesday. There is no independent
confirmation of this story.
A total of 1,409 people left Kukes Tuesday for other parts
of Albania. UNHCR’s information campaign to encourage people to move out of Kukes for
security reasons has resulted in over 4,000 refugees moving out of the region. 2,074
people had left Kukes Monday for points south. The campaign will continue to be reiterated
in coming days.
Some refugees were helicoptered on Tuesday to the site of
a new American-built camp at Fier, for a "go-and-see" visit. Their assessment
appeared mixed: interested but not overwhelmingly positive. It was also reported that in
the UAE-administered camp in Kukes, some locals had been touring tents urging women to
leave and move south. They were apparently masquerading as UNHCR/humanitarian officials.
UNHCR staff will be visiting tents telling everyone, especially women, not to accept any
offers unless they are absolutely sure the people involved are legitimate UNHCR staff.
Some additional information is available from the 19
refugees who crossed Monday at Morini. They consisted of four families from Prizren who
were visited by police on Sunday and told they were about to be expelled. One of their
homes was destroyed and on Monday the group was trucked to the border. One man said he was
beaten on his hands and feet by police authorities at a local station. He showed signs of
physical abuse and was sent for treatment.
Town authorities, worried about the large presence of
refugees, again expressed great concern with the water situation in Kukes. The water
supply has already been reduced to four-six hours per day and the authorities have
threatened to cut off all water to the refugees on Thursday.
UNHCR and OXFAM are working on plans both to strengthen
the supply to the town itself and also to provide water directly to the refugee camps.
FYR of MACEDONIA
Nearly 2,500 refugees arrived in the FYR of Macedonia on
Tuesday and very early Wednesday morning, amid reports of a new wave of expulsions
conducted by Serbian security forces.
The arrivals included 953 people who came in on a train
Monday morning from the Pristina suburb of Kosovo Polje, which also had picked up
passengers along the way south to the border. Some of these people were among the 1,000
passengers of a train which was turned back upon reaching the border on Monday.
Also on Tuesday, 110 refugees transported by a bus to the
border entered through the Tabanovce crossing. The refugees, who came from the
municipalities of Urosevac, Obilic and Glogovac, were taken to Senekos and Stenkovec
camps.
The refugees told similar stories: Serb forces were
emptying villages and were occupying civilian houses and using barns to store artillery
and anti-aircraft guns. They also said food was becoming scarce.
In the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, an additional group
of around 1,400 people arrived at Blace in about 70 tractor-trailers and other vehicles.
They were told to leave the tractor-trailers and cars behind and proceed to the FYR of
Macedonia on foot.
There were these other developments:
- A WHO team says the situation in the camps is stable
despite reports of some cases of bloody diarrhea. These cases have been investigated and
WHO says there is no indication of a potential epidemic. However, WHO stresses the need to
promote hygiene among refugees.
- Stenkovec I has been connected to a borehole and the water
supply situation is expected to improve there. Stenkovec II will also be connected to the
water supply. A second borehole, to be used as backup for both camps, is under
construction.
MONTENEGRO
Around 1,000 Kosovars arrived in Montenegro over the past
four days in a continuing influx from western Kosovo.
Meanwhile, UNHCR has transported to Ulcinj 83 of the 106
Kosovars arrested and detained by the Yugoslav army at the border over the weekend. The
group was subsequently released in Tutin and came to Rozaje. At least 17 men reportedly
remain in detention and the rest are in Rozaje with their families.
Those released said that following their arrest on
Saturday, they were put on buses and taken to Kosovska Mitrovica in northern Kosovo, where
they originated. But on arrival there, Serbian authorities ordered them to go back to
Tutin, where they were later freed.
HUMANITARIAN EVACUATION
A total of 1,128 refugees departed on Tuesday from the FYR
of Macedonia for third countries under the humanitarian evacuation program, far below
UNHCR’s daily target of a minimum of 2,000 departures. Destinations were: Austria,
Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Turkey.
So far, 52,643 refugees have departed under the program in
which UNHCR has received offers for 135,000 places in 39 countries.
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Document compiled by Dr S D Stein