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

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

• FFP and USDA met with PVO implementing partners yesterday to discuss the current status of food assistance programs Albania and Macedonia, and to present plans to pre-position Title II and 416(b) commodities in region. FFP and USDA will maintain contingency stocks of approximately 14,000 MT of wheat flour, rice, vegetable oil and beans in the region, while moving another projected 14,000 MTs per month through WFP and NGO food assistance programs. (14,000 MTs represents a one-month supply of 30-day rations for over 750,000 people). Possible locations for U.S. Government contingency stocks include Skopje, Thessaloniki, Sofia, and Burgas. Title II commodities for the contingency stocks have been identified and shipment will begin next week.

Albania

• UNHCR headquarters estimates that there are 406,000 refugees in Albania. Approximately 650 refugees from Kosovo over the last 24 hours. Of the total number of refugees in Albania, 102,727 are in the three northern border districts of Kukės, Has and Tropjė.
• The Government of Albania's (GOA) Emergency Management Group estimates that 4,700 refugees were transferred from the Kukės area to other regions of Albania during the last 24 hours. The cumulative number of refugees transferred out of Kukės since March 24 totals 314,000.
• Security at refugee camps in Kukės and Korcė is still a priority. Since the German government withdrew from the Korcė camp, the NGOs who have taken over camp management have been unable to maintain a presence at night due to insecurity. The Western European Union and OSCE are reportedly developing a plan to deploy more camp police throughout Albanian refugee camps.
• The acceleration of the Camp Hope construction timeline is underway. The contractor continues to mobilize additional labor and equipment to complete the camp by May 25. Tents are being erected now and will have the ability to accommodate 2,500 refugees by May 12. Essential camp infrastructure (potable water and latrines) will not be completed before May 12.
• WFP reports that it is providing food to 95,000 refugees who reside with host families. Food is also provided to the host families themselves.
• Artillery fire from FRY forces was reported in the villages of Letaj and Pogaj in Has District on May 6.
• On May 11, the GOA will provide to UNHCR a list of available military structures that may be used to house refugees.
• WFP's sub-office in Korcė reported the arrival of 5,000 refugees from Macedonia, 6 May. WFP is assessing the possibility of new bakery arrangements in Korcė in anticipation of the continued influx of refugees from Macedonia.
• WFP reports that it has provided over 200 MTs of wheat flour to the Red Cross Movement for its distributions to host families and refugees in host families. The inadequacy of the current Red Cross commodity pipeline, together with the limited capacity of the Albanian Red Cross continues to be of concern.
• The ICRC/IFRC reports that over the past week the Red Cross Movement has distributed over 600 MT of food parcels and wheat flour throughout Albania. However, the IFRC cautions that its supplies may prove inadequate for the growing number of refugees in host families and the host families themselves. The most recent Red Cross figures indicate that there are currently 267,513 refugees being hosted in 42,074 families.
• WFP has assessed the small port of Shejin (north of Durrės) and believes it can support shipments up to 1000 MTs. WFP will use this port to supply the bakery in Shkodėr with flour.

Macedonia*

• UNHCR headquarters estimates that there are currently 230,900 refugees in Macedonia (UNHCR/Skopje reports 238,600). This number is revised from yesterday's figure, despite the fact that there were no official refugee entries, because for the first time, UNHCR is including refugee estimates from the Government of Macedonia's Ministry of Interior. On May 5, 1,736 refugees departed Macedonia for third countries.
• UNHCR reports that scattered groups of some 770 refugees entered Macedonia through Straza on May 6. The refugees avoided Macedonian border police as they were led by Albanian villagers, and were accommodated by residents of Lojane and Slupcane. Refugees requiring medical attention were brought to a local hospital by UNHCR.
• According to a May 6 UNHCR press release, UNHCR has received renewed assurances from the GOM that it will allow refugees from Kosovo to cross the border into Macedonia. During a meeting in Skopje Thursday, Macedonia's Interior Minister told the UNHCR representative that the border would remain open. UNHCR said it welcomed the verbal assurances from the government and hoped that this would quickly translate into action on the ground.
• On May 6, 2,000 - 4,000 refugees were waiting at the border of Maceodnia on the Serbian side, and a train which arrived at the border was turned back. The GOM reports that if refugees are not able to cross the border, the blockage is coming from the Serbian site. UNHCR and the GOM report today that the border is open but that there are no refugees waiting to cross.
• UNHCR's latest report indicates that there are 103,200 refugees in camps in Macedonia, 112,613 refugees registered by the Macedonian Red Cross in host families (latest figure from UNHCR/Skopje-- as of 4 May), 107,432 registered by Macedonian authorities for refugee status and staying in host families or private accommodations (latest figure reported by UNHCR/Skopje—as of 5 May), and 4,790 are gathered in border communities (Straza, Vaksince, Kumanovo, Lipkovo, and Slupcane).
• 416 refugees are due to arrive at Fort Dix, New Jersey today. The next scheduled arrivals are on the 10^th, 12^th, and 13^th of May. Each of these flights will have an estimated 470 refugees aboard.
• The German Ministry of Interior announced on May 6 that Germany would received an additional 10,000 refugees in the HEP. Germany initially offered to take in 10,000 refugees.
• WFP, UNHCR, WHO, UNICEF, Action Against Hunger, and MSF (Doctors Without Borders) met May 5 to discuss nutrition issues for the refugee populations in host families and camps. The need for increased coordination and information sharing was identified and participants agreed to meet again next week to discuss follow-up.

** 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 61,700 refugees in Montenegro.

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.

USAID/BHR	$83,167,327
State/PRM	$59,779,500
DOD	;$45,281,000
TOTAL	$188,227,827

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 870 calls were received by the public donation hotline on May 6. A total of 46,515 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.