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

Source: UNHCR Geneva.

Albania

• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) headquarters estimates that there are 441,000 refugees in Albania. On May 27, about 400 refugees entered Albania from Kosovo. No refugees entered Albania from Macedonia on May 27.
• Throughout Albania, the EMG estimates that there are 80,300 refugees in tent camps, 96,596 in collective centers, and 283,555 living with host families and in other accommodations.
• In Kukes Prefecture, the Emergency Management Group (EMG) estimates that there are 35,820 refugees in tent camps, and 2,324 in collective centers. The Government of Albania (GOA)/ Emergency Management Group (EMG) reports that 2,100 refugees were transferred out of Kukes to southern and central Albania on May 26.
• EMG reports that 2,107 refugees were relocated from Kukes prefecture to other areas in central and southern Albania in the last 24 hours increasing the number of refugees relocated from Kukes, Shkodra and Korca prefectures to 374,823. Of that, 139 refugees were relocated from Kukes I to Camp Hope.
• UNHCR/Albania estimates that approximately 4,000 refugees will enter Albania from Macedonia in the next 10 days. The World Food Program (WFP) will provide the refugees Humanitarian Daily Rations (HDRs) as they cross the border and are received by UNHCR.
• The Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) reports that site surveys continue for the location of additional U.S.-funded camps.
• According to the DART, all humanitarian helicopter relief flights to the Kukes border areas have been canceled due to live firing exercises by Albanian troops.
• The DART reports that heavy fighting at the Kosovo-Albanian border has made the Morini crossing point dangerous. As a result, NATO has advised relief workers not to go to the border area unless it is essential.
• UNHCR estimates that there are approximately 7,000 internally displaced Albanians within Kukes district due to cross-border shelling. Approximately 4,000 of the displaced are in Tropoja district and 3,000 are in Haas district.
• WFP is providing basic rations and bread to approximately 236,611 refugees in Albania with 109,244 receiving WFP bread only, and 225,389 receiving International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) food parcels. IFRC states that it cannot increase its food distribution capacity beyond 300,000 refugees and 50,000 host families.
• WFP reports that the NGO Concern transported 28 Metric Tons (two week rations for 3,100 people) to Bajram Curri on May 27. This area is highly insecure and travel there is restricted for UN personnel.
• IFRC reports that of 96, 644 refugees living with host families in Tirana prefecture, 65,711 have received Red Cross monthly rations. Host families in the region have not yet been included in Red Cross distributions.
• Red Cross reports that between 21 and 24 May 2-week rations were distributed to 39,782 refugees with host families and 1,746 host families in Kukes Town. Refugees and host families received the same quantity and kinds of commodities (totaling approximately 7.5 kg per person for the two-week ration).
• IFRC reports the Red Cross received 400 MTs of food parcels and approximately 200 MTs of mixed commodities in Durres on May 25^th, but that its stocks of wheat flour remain low. Red Cross warehousing for up to 5,000 MTs has been secured by ICRC in Durres.
• WFP reports that its beneficiary caseload in Gjirokaster (southern Albania) is increasing, but that poor roads and security constraints are hampering distributions there.
• WFP reports that a five-day UN mission to assess the potential of local purchasing and milling in Albania began May 27.
• The World Bank and UNHCR have together offered $1 million to fund a Ministry of Education project for summer schools. The schools will run form June allowing refugee children to complete their school year. UNICEF and the Soros Foundation will train 60 teachers in basic education who will train other teachers. UNHCR estimates that 4,000 teachers will be required to instruct the estimated 150,000 Kosovar children in Albania.
• According to the Department of Defense (DOD), current Camp Hope capacity is 8,668 with a population of 2,584. The final goal has been increased form 20,000 to 25,000 and may rise further. Camp Eagle will only support 10,000 vice the original goal of 20,000. The flood analysis revealed extensive site preparation work requiring 48 days. Engineers will have to construct berms (earthen mounds) to facilitate the control of flood waters.

Date: May 22, 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 251,100 refugees in Macedonia. Approximately 1,050 refugees entered Macedonia in the last 24 hours. On May 27, 2,234 refugees were transferred by air to third countries, and no refugees departed to Albania.
• UNHCR Skopje reports that 111,400 refugees are living in camps and transit centers, and the Macedonian Red Cross estimates that 109,700 refugees are registered as living with host families. The Government of Macedonia (GOM) estimates that more than 30,000 refugees are unregistered and living elsewhere in Macedonia.
• On May 26, UNHCR began a campaign at the Blace Reception Center to inform refugees about the option of relocating to camps in the Korce Valley of Albania. UNHCR sent seven teams around the Reception Center to explain the relocation option to refugees who had been at the center for more than 24 hours. A total of 239 refugees volunteered to move to Albania on May 26.
• During the evening of May 26, the DART observed Swiss Disaster Relief (SDR) erecting at least 130 tents at Blace II, an area at the border designated by the Government of Macedonia as additional space for refugees transiting the border. The area of Blace II is on hill that has not been graded nor has had gravel applied. The area has 36 latrines but no water source.
• Because the Blace Reception Center is intended for stays of less than 48 hours, the center has not developed systems for registration, family reunification, and phone services. With nearly 7,000 refugees remaining at the center, the urgency for developing such services is increasing.
• The lack of interior or exterior lighting at the Blace Reception Center is also creating the potential for physical danger and is heightening the feeling of insecurity. To establish a lighting system at Blace, special permission would have to be received from the Government of Macedonia's Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Interior.
• DOD reported that on May 27, 21 refugees departed Ft. Dix, New Jersey and were placed with host families in the U.S. Ninety refugees are expected to depart Ft. Dix on May 28. Flights scheduled to depart Skopje on May 30-31 have been canceled.

Date: May 28, 1999 8:00 am GMT

Source: UNHCR Skopje.  

(Source: UNHCR/Geneva)

Montenegro

• UNHCR headquarters estimates that there are 65,100 refugees in Montenegro. Approximately 200 refugees entered Montenegro on May 26.
• The Croatia-Montenegro border continues to be unpredictable. Trucks carrying humanitarian assistance were stopped on May 27 while commercial trucks were allowed to pass.
• The IFRC reports that over the last week approximately 3,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have arrived in Ulcinj from Rozaje. According to the IFRC, tents remain available for new arrivals in the Neptune IDP camp, but sanitation and cooking facilities are inadequate.

Commodities

• No new information.

Financial Support

• To date the USG has provided over $210 million in response to the Kosovo crisis since March 1998.

USAID/BHR	$95,628,821
State/PRM	$69,779,500
DOD	$45,281,000
TOTAL	$210,689,321

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). On May 27, 88 calls were made to the public donation hotline. Since April 6, a total of 49,107 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.