AT A GLANCE
- Exodus resumes with over 12,000 new arrivals in Albania,
Macedonia (FYROM) and Montenegro on 15 April
- More than 3,000 refugees arrived Thursday in Albania and
about 6,000 in Macedonia (FYROM). During 14-15 April, Montenegro took in more than 7,000
people displaced from Kosovo.
- A train and several buses which arrived at the Macedonian
border reportedly turned back to Kosovo without disembarking the passengers. Reason
unknown.
MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS
ALBANIA
The refugee flow through the Morini border was constant
until midnight in the night of 15/16 April. The exodus resumed early on 16 April. From 8
a.m. Thursday until 8 a.m. Friday there were 3,254 new arrivals, some of whom came from
Prizren and others from Mitrovica. Many of the latter had walked for up to five days from
Mitrovica, northeast of Pristina.
A young girl from Mitrovica said she was in the last group
expelled from the center of the city. She said she saw the whole downtown area on fire and
saw many bodies lying in the street. Refugees say that thousands more are heading for
Albania.
The new arrivals came on foot and were in very poor
condition without any belongings. They were taken to a camp constructed by the Greek army
in Kukes, but the tents were filled as soon as they were set up. Aid agencies in Kukes
erected 20 big tents in half a day to accommodate 1,000 new arrivals. These were quickly
filled as well. Other arrivals were accommodated in the already overcrowded collective
centers.
The sporadic shelling of villages in the Districts of
Kukes and Has poses a serious security concern. Moving refugees out of the Kukes area
remains a priority for UNHCR. With the assistance of local authorities, about 5,000
refugees are being transfered down to central or southern Albania daily but this will soon
be outpaced by the number of new arrivals.
MACEDONIA (FYROM)
Around 6,000 refugees arrived in Macedonia on Thursday, 15
April, including an estimated 3,000 people who had been stuck in the no mans land at
Lojane, between Serbia (outside Kosovo province) and Macedonia. Refugees were shuttled to
the camps in more than 60 buses from all three border points: Lojane, Blace and Jazince.
Some of those who arrived at Blace yesterday came on board
a train from Urosevac. A few came in private vehicles. Many of the new arrivals said they
were from Gnjilane, southeast of Pristina, which had a pre-conflict population of about
50,000. They said they had been forced to leave because many houses were looted and set on
fire.
UNHCR received reports that at least one train and two
buses went back north into Kosovo from the Blace border crossing on 15 April without
disembarking their passengers. This testimony came from a few people who claimed to have
jumped out of the train. Some refugees who had arrived at the border by bus told UNHCR
also that at least two busloads of people arriving at General Jankovic (Kosovo side of the
border) also turned around and went back north.
MONTENEGRO
On 14 and 15 April, more than 7,000 new displaced people
trekked over the mountains from Kosovo to Montenegro, bringing the total there to well
over 70,000. A UNHCR relief convoy departed Belgrade yesterday for Podgorica, carrying
stocks from UNHCRs warehouse in Belgrade, but diesel fuel urgently needed to run the
aid trucks and aid agencies vehicles was not permitted to be transported.
The Montenegrin authorities are fully commited to the
protection of the displaced population, but the security situation in Montenegro is a
growing concern. Several displaced persons have reportedly been arrested by the Yugoslav
military police or by Serbian police who have access to the area. UNHCR is investigating
allegations of detention by military police of displaced persons, including two patients
reportedly taken from a hospital.
In the municipality of Ulcinj, where over 23,000 displaced
people are staying, World Vision has agreed to provide fresh food to the soup kitchen, as
well as to mosques and collective centers.
HUMANITARIAN EVACUATION
On Thursday, 15 April, 1,567 refugees left Macedonia by
air under the Humanitarian Evacuation Program. Their destinations were Austria, Germany
and Norway. Another 841 refugees are planned to be evacuated today, to Germany, Norway,
Poland and Turkey.
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