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

Kosovo

• Up to fifty trucks per convoy, two convoys per day, could begin delivering humanitarian supplies to Kosovo as early as June 12, Pending a NATO determination that entry into Kosovo is safe. Convoys will receive military escorts to Pristina.
• The World Food Program (WFP) in Rome and Macedonia report that five WFP trucks, carrying humanitarian daily rations (HDRs) and wheat flour, will be included in two NATO convoys to Pristina and Prizren scheduled for Sunday, June 13. Each convoy will include up 50 vehicles involved in the delivery of humanitarian assistance. UNHCR is managing the assignment of "slots" in the convoys.
• UNHCR has identified eight basic non-food commodities (blankets, mattresses, hygiene kits, jerry cans, buckets, candles, plastic sheeting, and kitchen sets), which will serve as the priority items for assistance packages in Kosovo.

Albania

• UNHCR headquarters estimates there are 444,200 refugees in Albania. UNHCR and the Government of Albania (GOA), Emergency Management Group (EMG) report no new influxes entering Albania from Kosovo, Macedonia, or Montenegro on June 10.
• Throughout Albania, the EMG reports that there are 83,855 refugees in tent camps, 94,079 in collective centers, 287,595 in host families and other accommodations.
• The EMG reports that 544 refugees were transferred from Kukes Prefecture to points in southern and central Albania. Meanwhile 140 refugees moved back into Kukes in anticipation of returning to Kosovo.
• The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) reports that there are 3,470 refugees registered at Camp Hope. CARE reports that over the past few days, small numbers of refugees have been leaving for areas closer to the border in anticipation of a return to Kosovo.
• The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) reports heavy shelling at the Albania-Kosovo border, particularly near Krume. OSCE reports that 90 percent of the villages around Krume have been abandoned.
• WFP reports that refugees are continuing to leave Kukes voluntarily for areas in the south. Heat and lack of water in Kukes may be contributing to this movement. WFP indicates that cases of dehydration are being noted among children in the Kukes camps.
• WFP reports that five trucks loaded with HDRs, biscuits, and canned meat are being sent to Kukes today for onward shipment into Kosovo as soon as NATO clearance is obtained. WFP is assessing additional warehouse capacity in Kukes to accommodate stores for Kosovo.
• The NATO force in Albania (AFOR) reports that it will focus on infrastructure construction and transportation system upgrades to support the return of refugees to Kosovo.
• AFOR reports that it is making significant improvements to Rinas airport in Tirana, including repair of the airport's access and perimeter roads, rehabilitating and erecting structures, expanding and fencing the ramp space, an installing a portable air traffic control system.
• AFOR plans to dredge the port of Durres, increasing the port's depth from 6.8 to 9.5 meters. Once begun, the project will take six to eight weeks to complete.
• AFOR reports it will initiate an information campaign. The first element of the information campaign is being developed in cooperation with the GOA and the EMG to encourage refugees in Albania to refrain from returning to Kosovo until NATO and international humanitarian organizations have determined that conditions are appropriate. The second element will provide mine awareness information to refugees.

Macedonia

• UNHCR headquarters estimates that there are 244,500 refugees in Macedonia. 403 refugees entered Macedonia in the last 24 hours. On June 10, there were refugees transferred by air to third countries.
• UNHCR Skopje reports that 105,900 refugees are living in camps and transit centers, and the Macedonian Red Cross 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.
• UNHCR has two information officers, one each in Skopje and Tirana, who are responsible for mass information campaigns for refugee return to Kosovo. The information campaign will target refugees in both camps and host families.
• The UNHCR Macedonia public information campaign will consist of radio broadcasts, leaflet distributions, weekly newsletter, and advertisement in Albanian newspapers. The campaign will not only warn refugees about mines and other hazards but will also urge refugees to wait to return until UNHCR can provide an assessment of the conditions inside Kosovo and develop systems to assist them.
• On June 10 UNHCR began distributing UNICEF leaflets on mine awareness in all the refugee camps. UNHCR will also work with the German non-governmental organization (NGO), HELP, to distribute mine threat information to refugees as they return to Kosovo.
• DOD reports 65 refugees departed Fort Dix on June 10 and the current refugee population at the base is 2,910. The total number of refugees flown to the U.S. is 6,642.

Date: June 11, 1999 8:00 am GMT

Source: UNHCR Skopje.  

** Some refugees were moved to third countries by the GOM w/o UNHCR 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 69,800 Kosovar IDPs in Montenegro. 130 IDPs from Kosovo arrived in Montenegro on June 9.

Region

• WFP reports that it currently has 300,000 HDRs in Macedonia; 250,000 HDRs in Albania; and 150,000 in the pipeline, due to arrive in the region later this month.

Pescara, Italy Airdrops

• USAID Pescara Logistics Cell (PLC) reports that two planes completed airdrops of humanitarian commodities over Kosovo on June 11. The two planes dropped a combined total 4,140 HDRs and 1,350 high-protein biscuits. No security incidents were reported. To date 19,658 HDRs and 4,575 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	$101,936,372
State/PRM	$69,779,500
DOD	$45,281,000
TOTAL	$216,996,872

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 June 10, 52 calls were made to the public donation hotline. Since April 6, a total of 49,589 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.