Regional: Refugees/Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Kosovo
 

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

Albania

• UNHCR headquarters estimates that there are 396,300 refugees in Albania. Approximately 700 refugees from Kosovo entered Albania at the Morini border crossing on May 3.
• The GOA reports that 107,803 refugees remain in Albania's northern districts. 5,209 refugees moved from Kukės prefecture to the southern and central regions of the country on May 3. NATO, UNHCR and the GOA all provided transportation. Many refugees also moved on their own. To date, an estimated total of 300,000 refugees have been transferred from Kukės.
• The DART reports that all border crossings remain open with the exception of Qafi I Prushit near Krumė.
• The DART reports that camp security is a concern in Kukės and Korcė. Local gangs and groups of refugees are involved in criminal activity.
• The State Department reports that UNHCR and the GOA are coordinating a contingency plan for a potential influx of 150,000 new refugees.
• WFP reports that a two-week transition period to ease the implementation of the WFP/Red Cross agreement is in effect. During this time UNHCR will fund implementing partners who provide support to refugees staying with host families.
• WFP reports that in Kukės, contracted warehouse space and three newly erected rubhalls ensure a minimum storage capacity of 1,500 MT. Five additional rubhalls are planned for Korcė and Fier.

Macedonia

• UNHCR headquarters estimates that there are currently 204,070 refugees in Macedonia. Over 11,600 refugees entered Macedonia in the last 24 hours, via the Blace and Jazince border crossings. Most arrivals came by train from Pristina, Podujevo, Lipjane, and Urosevac, and most were taken to Cegrane, the newest camp, where the German NATO contingent worked to set up tents as quickly as possible. Some 400 were also taken to Radusa and 400 to Neprosteno. On May 3, 750 refugees departed Macedonia for third countries.
• UNHCR's latest report indicates that there are 99,850 refugees in camps in Macedonia, 93,370 refugees registered by Macedonian authorities for refugee status and staying in host families or private accommodations, and 3,700 are gathered in border communities (Straza, Vaksince, Kumanovo). These numbers may not reflect the actual numbers of refugees at various locations in Macedonia because of incomplete tracking of movements of recent arrivals.
• There is discussion between the Government of Macedonia, UNHCR, and NATO of two possibilities for housing new refugees coming into Macedonia. One possibility is to build another transit center in Macedonia for 20,000 refugees, and the second option is to start moving people voluntarily to southern Albania (Korce and Fier). 
• Fort Dix, New Jersey will receive the first 400 Kosovar Albanian refugees on May 5. This group will be followed by another 400 arriving later in the week. 
• UNHCR hopes that through an increase in humanitarian evacuations and an acceleration of camp construction in Albania, up to 75,000 refugees can be evacuated from Macedonia either to Albania or to other countries by May 11. UNHCR hopes that this will ease the overcrowding in the refugee camps in Macedonia.
• UNHCR has asked NGOs to begin a more thorough screening of refugees crossing the border for critical health problems. These refugees will then be given immediate medical attention at a health care facility close to the border, rather than being transferred to a more distant location.
• As of May 1, WFP had sufficient stocks of flour and pulses in country to feed 121,100 people for one month. WFP reports that additional flour will be arriving in Skopje over the next few days.

** Some refugees were moved to third countries by the GOM w/o UNHCR/IOM involvement: 10,000 to Albania, 5,500 to Greece, 2,243 to Turkey, and 88 to Croatia.

• UNHCR headquarters estimates that there are 61,900 refugees in Montenegro. In the past 24 hours 200 refugees have entered Montenegro from Kosovo.

USG Humanitarian Assistance:

Commodities

• No new information.

Financial Support

• To date the USG has provided over $188 million in response to the Kosovo crisis, beginning in March 1998. 

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.

Public Donation Information:

• In the interest of effective coordination of such public response, we encourage concerned citizens to provide monetary donations to appropriate organizations. USAID encourages the public to contact directly those private voluntary organizations (PVOs) currently working in the region to provide monetary donations. A list of those PVOs may be obtained from the USAID website at www.info.usaid.gov. The list is composed of PVOs 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 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, which is staffed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week. FEMA reports that 331 calls were received by the public donation hotline on May 3. A total of 44,555 calls have been received since the hotline was established on 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.