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

Albania

• UNHCR headquarters estimates there are 444,200 refugees in Albania currently. UNHCR and the Government of Albanian/Emergency Management Group (GOA/EMG) report no new influxes entering Albania from Kosovo, Macedonia, or Montenegro on June 9, marking the first time that no refugees crossed these borders since the announcement of the peace agreement last week.
• In the past several weeks, many of new arrivals in Albania were men released from the Smrekovnica prison near Kosovska Mitrovica in northern Kosovo. Around 3,000 detainees arrived in Albania from prison since last month.
• Throughout Albania, the GOA/EMG estimates that 88,724 refugees are in tent camps, 96,225 in collective centers, and 280,580 refugees living with host families and in other accommodations.
• The GOA/EMG reports a total of 26 collective centers, 52 tent camps, and 15 mixed accommodation sites in Albania. The EMG has identified additional space for 18,880 refugees in collective centers, 45,550 in tent camps, and 3,500 refugees in mixed accommodations.
• In Kukes Prefecture, the GOA/EMG estimates that there are 36,523 refugees in tent camps and 2,384 in collective centers. These figures, unlike those provided yesterday, represent actual occupation and not capacity available.
• In the last 24 hours, 918 refugees were relocated from Kukes Prefecture to central and southern areas of Albania.
• As of 1200 CET on June 9, CARE reported 3,469 refugees as being registered at Camp Hope. The camp has a capacity of 18,313 refugees. USAID/DART reports 11 refugees departed the camp on June 9 for unknown reasons. Security problems in the camp have been resolved, with UNHCR granting CARE permission to hire a private security firm. Construction work continues at Camp Eagle.
• The EMG has established a working-level steering committee to discuss contingency planning for refugee return to Kosovo. The committee comprises representatives from the GOA, UNHCR, NATO, and the donor community. The EMG has also established a logistics and information cell to assist with planning for the transport of refugees back to Kosovo from Albania and the implementation of an information campaign to inform refugees about issues relevant to their return.
• UNHCR and the GOA continue to emphasize increased donor support of host families so that refugees with host families do not begin to move into tent camps and collective centers.
• OSCE reports grenade and artillery attacks in the districts of Tropoja and Has. OSCE also reports light gunfire between Albanian and FRY forces in Kukes District.
• Health NGOs are discussing ways to improve sanitation facilities and hygiene practices in tents and collective centers. The NGOs have proposed conducting a survey on water and sanitation conditions, with input from camp managers. Water/sanitation conditions are particularly poor in collective centers.
• The World Food Program (WFP) reports that limited monitoring of refugees in host families has revealed that in 20-30% of cases, figures provided by the local authorities are inflated. A monitoring system using the database developed with the Mother Theresa Society for relief distributions in Kosovo is to be implemented countrywide in Albania.

Macedonia

• UNHCR headquarters estimates that there are 245,100 refugees in Macedonia. 150 refugees entered Macedonia in the last 24 hours. On June 9, there were 941 refugees transferred by air to third countries.
• UNHCR Skopje reports that 107,400 refugees are living in camps and transit centers, and the Macedonian Red Cross (MRC) estimates 148,355 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.
• Ground breaking at the new refugee camp at Vrapciste proceeded on June 9. The camp is expected to cost $1,111,111 and will be managed by International Rescue Committee (IRC). The camp should be ready to accommodate 500 refugees by early next week.
• One thousand refugees at Cegrane held a peaceful demonstration to express dissatisfaction with the quality and quantity of food, the sanitation situation, the rules of the Humanitarian Evacuation Program (HEP), and the lack of proper summer clothing.
• The NATO information campaign for refugees began in Macedonia and Albania with radio broadcasts in both Albanian and Serbian. NATO will also use television and flyer distributions to encourage refugees not to rush home.
• WFP reports that a mine awareness campaign for camp refugees in Macedonia is being prepared in anticipation of rapid repatriation.
• WFP reports that refugee registration problems persist in Kumanovo, three weeks after a WFP/UNHCR/MRC assessment team brought them to the attention of involved officials. MRC/IFRC are now looking for alternative distribution systems to reach refugees throughout the country.
• UNHCR has identified the need to winterize shelter for 125,000 refugees or roughly 50% of the current refugee population, including winterization for 40,000 refugees in the camps. This effort could cost as much as $40-$60 million.
• Winterization efforts have already been incorporated into the site plan for Vrapciste, which will accommodate 9,000 refugees in winterized space. Changes in the current camps needed for winterization include floors, foundations, and walls for tents, additional tent liners, bedframes, mattresses, and additional woolen blankets.
• Currently, no efforts have been made to winterize collective centers and the only program addressing winterization of host family accommodations is a small Danish Refugee Council program funded by ECHO to improve 1,300 homes.
• DOD reports all flights into Fort Dix have been curtailed and the current refugee population at Fort Dix is 2,975.

Date: June 10, 1999 8:00 am GMT

Montenegro

• UNHCR headquarters estimates that 76 refugees arrived in Montenegro from Kosovo on June 7.

Region

• Under the WFP/UNHCR plan for the first 60 days of the return to Kosovo the breakdown of the Areas of Responsibility (AORs) is Mercy Corps International in Pec, Soldiarite in Djakovica, Catholic Relief Services in Prizren, CARE in Urosevac, IRC in Gnjilane, Action Against Hunger/Children's Aid Direct in Pristina, and Oxfam in Mitrovica. During the first 60 days these organizations are to manage the distribution of all food and non-food assistance within their AORs, whether distributing the commodities themselves or working with smaller PVOs at the municipality level.
• WFP reports that NATO has requested 40,000 WFP emergency rations (HDRs and High Protein Biscuits) for the first convoy into Kosovo to provide immediate assistance for Kosovar IDPs/Remainees.

(Source: UNHCR/Geneva)

Pescara, Italy Airdrops

• USAID Pescara Logistics Cell (PLC) reports that two planes completed airdrops of humanitarian commodities over Kosovo on 10. The two planes dropped a combined total 3,900 Humanitarian Daily Rations (HDRs) and 1,350 high-protein biscuits. No security incidents were reported. To date 15,518 HDRs and 3,225 high-protein biscuits have been delivered.

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	$96,138,121
State/PRM	$69,779,500
DOD	$45,281,000
TOTAL	$211,198,621

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). During June 5-7, 43 calls were made to the public donation hotline. Since April 6, a total of 49,446 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.