Kosovo Crisis
Fact Sheet #37
April 26, 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 25, UNHCR headquarters estimates that there are 364,500 refugees in Albania. UNHCR reports that only 13 refugees entered Albania from Kosovo at the Morini border crossing on April 25. On April 24, 87 refugees crossed at Morini. On April 24-25, nearly 1,400 refugees entered Albania from Montenegro at the Honi I Hotit border crossing.
• On April 25, the GOA transferred 2,000 refugees from Kukės to points farther south in Albania. UNHCR reports that 40,000 have been transferred over the past six days.
• The DART reports that shelter for the refugee population in Skhodėr is a growing concern. Of the estimated 33,000 refugees in the area, only 10,000 have shelter in camps.
• The DART reports continued shelling of the Tropojė District by FRY forces. A FRY incursion into Albania was also reported.
• UNHCR headquarters reports that the UNICEF-led immunization campaign in Kukės has vaccinated 6,000 children against measles and 2,000 against polio.
• Joint Task Force - Shining Hope (JTF-SH) awaits Government of Albania (GOA) approval for the proposed 20,000-person refugee site near Fier, Albania. Readiness Management Support (RMS), the contractor selected for camp construction, has identified in-country labor sources. Construction will begin within 24 hours of site approval. USAID is working with UNHCR to identify NGO's to assume camp management and operation upon completion of construction.
• WFP reports that, with the exception of Kukės, all extended distribution points (EDPs) have two weeks basic rations in stock.
• WFP is considering adding another EDP at Elbasan. The intent is to reduce transport distances and take some of the transport logistics pressure off Durrės.
• The first of 38 MT of corn-soy blend (CSB) arrived in Albania on April 24. 19 MT was sent to Skhodėr on April 25. The CSB will be targeted to children under five.
• WFP reports that over 8,000 MTs of mixed commodities are to arrive in Albania within two weeks. 5,000 MT of USDA wheat will be shipped to Ploce, Bosnia to make up the first store of buffer stocks.
• WFP reports that it has five rubhalls "on standby" in Italy. [A rubhall is a temporary warehouse facility.]

Macedonia

• UNHCR headquarters estimates that there are 136,500 refugees currently in Macedonia, 1,800 of whom entered at the Blace border crossing in the last 24 hours. UNHCR reports that 2,500 refugees entered Macedonia on April 24, which is updated from the 2,200 UNHCR reported on April 25. 58,200 of the refugees in Macedonia are in camps and 78,300 are with host families.
• UNHCR reports that overcrowding in camps remains a problem, with only 10 square meters available per person, one third of UNHCR's standard.
• UNHCR reports that work is progressing on the new campsite, Cegrane. Approximately 650 tents will be erected at the site, 500 of which were donated by USAID/OFDA. The DART reports that the camp should be ready to receive between 5,000 - 6,000 refugees on April 28.
• Camp details: The following numbers are reported by UNHCR, as of April 26.
  • Stankovac I (Brazda): 26,200 refugees
  • Stankovac II: 16,100 refugees
  • Radusa: 1,500 refugees
  • Bojane:3,900 refugees
  • Neprosteno: 6,000 refugees
  • Senokos: 1,450 refugees
  • Radusa Collective Center 400 refugees
  • Blace Transit Center: 2,600 refugees

Montenegro

• UNHCR reports that new arrivals of displaced persons from Kosovo have dropped to fewer than 100 per day. UNHCR has no information on new arrivals for April 25, but reports that Montenegro currently hosts 64,300 displaced Kosovar Albanians. 1,400 Kosovar Albanians left Montenegro for Albania on April 25.
• BHR/FFP, through WFP, will provide Montenegro's Ministry of Social Affairs 3,500 MTs of wheatflour, 1,000 MTs vegetable oil, and 230 MTs of pulses from the cleared Title II commodities in Bar. These commodities will be used in support of Montenegro's most needy civilian population.

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 http://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.interaction.org/. 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.
• Past USAID/OFDA Factsheets can be obtained from the USAID web site at the following URL: http://www.info.usaid.gov/ofda/situation.html.