AT A GLANCE
- Security situation worsens for displaced people staying in
Montenegro in areas near the Kosovo border.
- Authorities of the FYR of Macedonia agree to allow entry of
thousands of refugees who had been blocked in no man’s land at Lojane border
crossing.
- Helicopter lift of vulnerable refugees from Kukes to Tirana
set to begin today.
- UNHCR asks all European countries which have offered places
for humanitarian evacuation from the FYROM to prepare to receive refugees.
- The estimated total numbers of refugees in the region are
357,000 in Albania, 130,000 in FYROM. An additional 70,000 Kosovars have been displaced in
Montenegro.
MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS
ALBANIA
Only 15 refugees from Kosovo crossed the border into
Albania at Morini on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, UNHCR and the Albanian government are now
moving up to 10,000 persons daily out of the Kukes area by road. On Wednesday, weather
permitting, a helicopter airlift of vulnerable refugees from Kukes to Tirana is due to
start. While the numbers moved by helicopter will not be large, this will permit the
transfer of elderly and ill people who would not be able to make the road journey. 200
vulnerable refugees and their families have been identified by UNHCR for the first
flights.
FYR OF MACEDONIA
A train from Urosevac arrived at the Blace border crossing
on Tuesday morning. Of the 350 to 450 persons reported to be on the train, only 150
refugees with valid travel documents were allowed to enter the FYR of Macedonia. Those
remaining reportedly returned with the train to Urosevac.
Late Tuesday, 20 April, the government in Skopje gave
UNHCR the green light to transfer some 3,000 refugees, stopped for two days in no
man’s land at the Lojane border crossing. 800 were taken to the new transit facility
at Blace with the balance going to Stankovac 1 and 2. Due to the late hour, many refugees
had to spend the night in buses. Work on camp expansion is continuing today. UNHCR is
still waiting for clarification on the extent of expansions agreed by authorities.
UNHCR has not been allowed to deliver additional supplies
to the remote mountain village of Male Malina, however. An estimated 6,000 refugees
arrived there over the weekend and on Monday, but are not formally considered as admitted
to the country by the Skopje authorities. The refugees at Male Malina are from Rimnik and
Curka, two villages in the Gnijlane area. They told UNHCR that their villages were
completely emptied and set on fire.
The road to Male Malina is in very poor condition and
poses serious logistical constraints for the delivery of relief supplies and possible
transportation of the refugees. Three UNHCR trucks carrying food and blankets were allowed
into the area and reached the village on Sunday. Since then, no food aid has been
delivered while several thousand more refugees were said to be on their way from Kosovo.
UNHCR staff who were turned back from Male Malina late
Tuesday said that it had been snowing for eight hours and they fear that the situation in
the village will become desperate if immediate access is not granted.
MONTENEGRO
Some clarification has now been obtained of the incident
which took place on 19 April in the village of Kaludjerski Laz, in Rozaje municipality.
According to available information, army reservists, who were reportedly drunk, went on a
rampage and killed 6 persons, including both locals and displaced Kosovars. Alarm has
spread throughout Rozaje and many Kosovars, as well as some locals, have been leaving the
area. There have been reports that local Muslims left Rozaje on four buses headed for
Sarajevo. UNHCR staff also saw 30 buses leaving Rozaje and 10 buses leaving Ulcinj headed
for the Albanian border crossing at Bozaj.
Meanwhile at the Montenegro-Croatia border crossing at
Debeli Brijeg, the Yugoslav army has reportedly ordered the Montenegro border police to
vacate their posts. As of Wednesday morning, Montenegrin police were still present at the
border, and a Yugoslav army checkpoint had been set up 5 km down the road, into
Montenegro. Yugoslav visas were being demanded of travellers.
HUMANITARIAN EVACUATION PROGRAM
On Tuesday 20 April, 592 refugees were flown out of Skopje
to Austria, Belgium, Poland and Turkey. Three flights are scheduled for today bound for
Belgium, Poland and Turkey.
At a meeting held on Tuesday in Geneva with donor and
refugee receiving countries to discuss the Humanitarian Evacuation Program, UNHCR
requested all European states to activate their quotas for receiving Kosovar refugees.
European states, which had not done so as yet, were encouraged to inform UNHCR of the
numbers of refugees they were willing to receive, how they intend to transport them to
their countries, and what timeframe was being considered for their reception. Movements to
destinations outside of Europe are still being kept on hold. UNHCR emphasized that it is
necessary to keep evacuation procedures simple and expeditious, as time is of the essence.
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This document is intended for public information purposes
only. It is not an official UN document.
Document compiled by Dr S D Stein