Kosovo Crisis
Fact Sheet #36
April 25, 1999

Refugees/IDPs from Kosovo

*All numbers are estimates from UNHCR Headquarters. These numbers are constantly changing and being verified.

UNHCR Humanitarian Evacuations (beginning April 6 to date)

Albania

• As of April 24, UNHCR headquarters estimates that there are 363,100 refugees in Albania. UNHCR reports that 100 refugees entered Albania from Kosovo on April 24.
• The DART reports that 4,900 refugees were transported from Kukės on April 23 to points further south via 40 buses. This brings the total number of refugees transported out of Kukės to 249,000 since March 24.
• NATO is increasing its manpower at Durrės port, where it is prepared to deliver several field hospitals into Albania and will complete a computerized shelter site map.
• 13 WFP vessels carrying 4,000 MT of food are waiting for discharge at Durrės. After the ships are discharged, there will be enough food supplies in Albania for one week.
• The GOA is improving its customs procedures in an attempt to facilitate the movement of relief commodities. In addition, the GOA and NATO have established a formal logistics cell to help resolve the current bottleneck.
• A U.S. Air Force civil engineer team is scheduled to arrive in Tirana on April 29 to help improve the airports service ramps and taxiways.
• The GOA is currently conducting an information campaign to inform local officials about the new regulation that allows for the direct import of drugs through NGOs.
• The security situation in Shkodra is deteriorating, according to the DART. FRY forces shelled Dobruna/Has and Padesh/Tropoja on April 23. Because of the insecurity, the Qafi I Prushit border post near Kruma remains closed.
• On April 23, UNHCR dispatched non-food items to a tobacco factory in Shkodra, where 4,000 refugees have gathered.
• An additional 1,300 tents and 5,000 blankets are scheduled to arrive in Ancona, Italy on April 26, provided by the U.S. Government for delivery to humanitarian relief agencies in Albania.

Macedonia

• UNHCR headquarters estimates that there are 135,200 refugees currently in Macedonia, 2,200 of whom entered at the Blace border crossing in the last 24 hours. Most of the new arrivals have been brought to the Blace transit center. At least 55,650 of the refugees in Macedonia are in camps and approximately 80,000 are with host families.
• An additional 5,000 blankets and 3,000 sleeping mats are scheduled to depart Travis and Dover Air Force Bases on April 26 for arrival in Ancona, Italy. The distribution of these humanitarian supplies provided by the U.S. Government will be coordinated by relief agencies in Macedonia.
• Camp details: The following numbers are reported by UNHCR, as of April 25.
  • Stankovac I (Brazda): 26,100 refugees
  • Stankovac II: 16,000 refugees
  • Radusa: 1,500 refugees
  • Bojane: 3,500 refugees
  • Neprosteno: 6,000 refugees
  • Senokos: 1,450 refugees
  • Radusa Collective Center: 400 refugees
  • Blace Transit Center: 700 refugees (1800 refugees reported by the DART through site visit)

Montenegro

• No new information.

Commodities

• No new information to report.

Financial Support

• To date the USG has provided over $182 million in response to the Kosovo crisis, beginning in March 1998.

  USAID/BHR	$75,655,237
  Department of State/Population Refugees and Migration (PRM)	$58,648,600
  DOD	$47,949,000
  TOTAL	$182,252,837

Background:

• In late February 1998, following an unprecedented series of clashes in Kosovo between Serbian police forces and members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), Serbian police raided villages in Kosovo's Drenica region, a KLA stronghold. The police reportedly burned homes and killed dozens of ethnic Albanians in these raids. Thousands of ethnic Albanians in Pristina protested Serb police actions, and were subsequently attacked by the police with tear gas, water cannons, and clubs.
• As a result of the fighting, thousands of Kosovar Albanians were displaced from their homes, many taking refuge with host families, while a smaller proportion (several thousand) took to the hills and forests.

• In the interest of effective coordination of such public response, we encourage concerned citizens to provide monetary donations to appropriate organizations. USAID does not recommend in-kind donations of clothing, food, medicines, or other goods as the handling, storage, and transport of these materials from the U.S. to the Balkans would be extremely complicated, time-consuming, and expensive.
• USAID encourages the public to contact directly those private voluntary organizations (PVOs) which are currently working in Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia-Herzegovina to provide monetary donations. Financial contributions to PVOs will allow these professional aid organizations to purchase exactly what is most needed by the victims of the conflict in Kosovo and to pay for transport and other costs associated with the distribution of relief supplies. Cash contributions allow humanitarian agencies based in the Balkans to procure food, medicine, clothing, shelter materials, and other relief goods locally and regionally, thereby greatly speeding the delivery of this assistance to those most in need.
• A list of PVOs that are currently working in, or have affiliates in, the Balkan countries may be obtained from the USAID website at www.info.usaid.gov. The list is composed of non-profit organizations that are registered with USAID and/or listed by InterAction, a coalition of voluntary humanitarian and development organizations that work overseas; InterAction can be contacted at 1-818-502-4288, or via the Internet at http://www.info.usaid.gov/hum_response/ofda/http. Those interested in providing specific technical relief services or commodities should contact Volunteers in Technical Assistance's (VITA) Disaster Information Center for information and guidelines (703) 276-1914.
• For more information, please contact the public donations hotline at 1-800-USAID-RELIEF. This hotline, which is staffed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 291 calls were received by the public donation hotline on April 24, through 12:00 a.m. EDT. A total of 41,410 calls have been received since April 6.
• Past USAID/OFDA Factsheets can be obtained from the USAID web site at the following URL: http://www.info.usaid.gov/ofda/situation.html.