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

Source: UNHCR Geneva.

Albania

• UNHCR headquarters estimates that there are 438,000 refugees in Albania. Within the last 48 hours, 1,127 refugees entered Albania from Kosovo; 668 entered through Morini and 3 through Hani I Hotip border crossing points on May 22, and 456 entered through Morini border crossing point on May 23.
• UNHCR estimates that approximately 7,000 Albanians have been internally displaced as a result of security problems related to Serb cross-border shelling in the north of the country.
• The Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) reports that it will conduct a walk-through site visit to Camp Eagle to offer an opportunity for the International Medical Corps, World Vision, and CARE to survey the site.
• The Government of Albania (GOM)/Emergency Management Group (EMG) reports that it has established a winterization cell as part of its shelter desk. This cell will establish a comprehensive plan on shelter winterization. The EMG will report out to the international community in early June.
• The EMG reports that 1,879 and 2,132 refugees relocated out of Kukes prefecture to central and southern Albania on May 22 and 23, respectively.
• According to a May 22 EMG report, there are 47 tent camps, 244 collective centers, and 17 sites with mixed accommodations (both tents and buildings). The tent camps have a current population of 70,659 with a planned potential of 110,601 underway for a capacity of 181,260 refugees. In addition, there are another 20,000 tent site spaces proposed.
• According to Department of Defense (DOD), Camp Hope capacity has been increased from 2,500 to 5,000 refugees.
• NATO reports that on May 25, it will begin execution of its relocation plan to step up efforts to relocate refugees from Kukes camps to other prefectures. Relocated refugees will go to Camp Hope and some to Durres.
• UNICEF reports that there are 43 shelter sites in 13 different districts that have child-friendly spaces, and expects to double the number of sites in two weeks.
• As of August 1, the Red Cross will begin to distribute bulk food drawn down from World Food Program (WFP) stocks to host families.

Date: May 17, 1999

Source: Government of Albania, Emergency Management Group. Current camps = existing. Planned = under construction, soon to be constructed, or in the conceptual stage. Current Population represents combined population of all camps or centers in a given location. Total Estimated Capacity represents combined estimated capacity of camps and centers, planned and current, in a given location.

Macedonia

• UNHCR headquarters estimates that there are currently 237,600 refugees in Macedonia, 13,400 of whom arrived in the last 48 hours. On May 22-23, 994 refugees were transferred by air to third countries. UNHCR reports that 87,160 refugees are living in camps and transit centers and 120,432 refugees are registered by the Macedonian Red Cross as living with host families. UNHCR reports government estimates that 30,000 refugees are living elsewhere in Macedonia.
• UNHCR workers at the Blace border crossing claim that they blocked the forced transfer into Albania of Kosovar Albanians by Macedonian authorities on May 24. Refugees say they were unable to cross the border until they agreed to be sent to Albania. Several hundred people who had already been loaded onto buses to Albania were then taken to the Stankovac I and II camps and the remaining several thousand refugees were admitted to the holding center at Blace.
• According to UNHCR/International Organization for Migration, a scheduled 1,251 refugees are expected to depart Macedonia on May 24. This will bring the total number of refugees transiting to third countries from Macedonia to more than 60,000.
• The influx into Macedonia continued over the weekend, with 1,300 arrivals on Friday, 7,700 on Saturday, May 22 and 5,700 on Sunday, May 23, placing Macedonian border authorities under considerable strain.
• WFP reports that Swiss Disaster Relief (SDR) is planning a new program "cash for shelter" which will compensate host families for increased costs incurred by taking in refugees (i.e. garbage, electricity, etc.)
• WFP reports that the May distribution of basic food commodities through the Macedonian Red Cross to refugees living with host families has been completed in all of Macedonia except Skopje, Tetovo and Kumanovo. Inadequate warehouse capacity has been the major delay in distributions in Tetovo.
• The UNHCR/UNICEF/WFP/Action Against Hunger/Medecins sans Frontieres "Assessment of Kosovo Refugees" survey will begin on May 24. The survey will be carried out in all of the transit centers and tented sites over a 13-day period.

Source: UNHCR Skopje. DART/Macedonia is seeking additional details on camps in Macedonia similar to the EMG data presented in the Albania section above.  

** Some refugees were moved to third countries by the GOM w/o UNHCR/IOM involvement: 10,000 to Albania, 5,500 to Greece, 1,980 to Turkey, and 88 to Croatia. (Source: UNHCR/Geneva)

Montenegro

• UNHCR headquarters estimates that there are 64,000 refugees in Montenegro.
• According to UNHCR, there are indications that the Montenegro border is sealed on both sides by the Yugoslav military, which would make passage for displaced people difficult. Around 250 refugees arrived on May 21-22, coming from Rakos village east of Istok.

Region

• No new information.

Commodities

• No new information.

Financial Support

• To date the USG has provided over $200 million in response to the Kosovo crisis since March 1998. On May 18 President Clinton announced an additional $15 million toward the crisis under the Emergency Migration and Refugee Assistance account (ERMA). The $15 million ERMA funds have yet to be spent and therefore do not appear in the totals below.

USAID/BHR	$92,964,601
State/PRM	$69,779,500
DOD	$45,281,000
TOTAL	$208,025,101

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. On May 21, 95 calls were made to the public donation hotline. Since April 6, a total of 48,729 calls have been received by the hotline.
• Past USAID/OFDA Factsheets can be obtained from the USAID web site at the following URL: http://www.info.usaid.gov/ofda/situation.html.