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

Kosovo

• Macedonian Interior Ministry officials reported that approximately 70 ethnic Albanian refugees crossed into Kosovo through various border crossings on June 12, just hours after the first NATO troops entered the province.
• No updated figures on numbers of displaced within Kosovo are available.
• World Food Program transported 48,000 humanitarian daily rations (HDRs) and 59 metric tons (MTs) of flour to Pristina on June 13. Although the primary United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warehouse had been looted, a smaller WFP warehouse was found to be intact (including stored commodities). Distributions will begin as soon as contact has been made with local distribution networks (Yugoslav Red Cross, Albanian Emergency Councils, etc.).
• Mercy Corps International (MCI) moved key staff into Pristina yesterday and will bring food commodities and more staff in to the city today. MCI is positioning itself for access to Pec as soon as NATO has secured that area.
• WFP is planning to participate in a joint UN distribution in Glogovac municipality, where an est. 20,000 IDPs are expected to be living in wooded areas outside of the town. UNHCR, United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and Action against Hunger will participate in the distribution.
• WFP reports that it has pre-positioned 50,000 HDRs and 25,000 High Protein Biscuit rations for distribution by NATO forces using helicopter airlifts.

Albania

• UNHCR headquarters estimates there are 444,600 refugees in Albania. 201 refugees entered Albania from Macedonia on June 11, none entered on June 12, and 82 entered the country on June 13. From June 9-13, 140 refugees entered Albania from Montenegro.
• Throughout Albania, the EMG reports that there are 86,930 refugees in tent camps, 95,542 in collective centers, 283,057 in host families and other accommodations.
• According to the Government of Albania (GOA)/Emergency Management Group (EMG), 29,615 refugees in Kukes prefecture are in tent camps and 2,384 are in collective centers.
• The Ministry of Local Government reports that 431 refugees returned to Kukes prefecture via private transport as of 1200 PM CET on June 12 to position themselves closer to the border for a speedier return once the environment inside Kosovo is safe. Since the peace agreement, the total number of refugees who have returned to Kukes prefecture is 571.
• According to the GOA/EMG, 1,446 refugees returned to Kukes prefecture from southern and central Albania from June 10-13.
• The Department of Defense (DOD) reports that the Camp Hope refugee population is currently listed as 3,483.
• UNHCR reports that its main priority upon entering Kosovo is to assist the more than 500,000 internally displaced persons. UNHCR's second priority is to assist the refugees in Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, and elsewhere to return home, and provide services for their basic needs.
• UNHCR states that refugees living in camps and collective centers in Albania will be the first to return home with UNHCR assistance. UNCHR is visiting each refugee camp and collective center to document which people need to go to each of UNHCR's seven planned distribution sites in Kosovo.
• WFP reports that it sent 7MTs of bread (14,000 loaves) to Prizren with the first NATO convoy Sunday. WFP staff accompanying the convoy report that while they have not encountered severely hungry people in Prizren, reports of hunger in the mountains persist.
• WFP reports that initial results of a joint WFP/Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) crop assessment and food security mission carried out last week indicate that at the macro level the crisis has had little impact (except on agriculture in the Kukes region), with greater impact experienced at the household level of host families.
• The joint Logistics Cell of the GOA/EMG has approved a draft plan for the organized repatriation of refugees from Albania to Kosovo. The GOA/EMG anticipates that approximately 75% of Kosovar refugees will return to Kosovo before fall. The plan is to go into effect 10 July.

Macedonia

• On June 14, UNHCR headquarters estimated there were 255,400 refugees in Macedonia. No refugees have entered Macedonia in the last 24 hours or crossed back into Kosovo.
• UNHCR headquarters reported that on June 13, 856 refugees were transferred by air to third countries.
• 82 refugees were transferred to Albania on June 13 as part of the Humanitarian Transfer Program.
• On June 14, UNHCR Skopje reported that 103,000 refugees are living in camps and transit centers, and the Macedonian Red Cross estimates 120,432 refugees are registered as living with host families although it is estimated that 150,432 refugees are living with host families (some are not registered).
• UNHCR Skopje reported that on June 14 there were 3 new arrivals to refugee camps, 48 refugees who moved from other sites to host families, 4 refugees reunified with family members living with host families, and 13 refugees who moved to other sites.
• WFP reports that UNHCR refugee registration is to begin today with the Neprosteno refugee camp. Registration in his camps is expected to be complete by the end of the week.
• Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART)/Macedonia reported that a UNHCR convoy arrived in Pristina yesterday and occupied its former warehouse there. The trip from Skopje to Pristina took five hours, instead of the usual one hour, because of delays at the border due to immigration and customs.
• UNHCR headquarters reported on June 13 that the convoy was to include 32 trucks from UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF and selected NGOs. It was intended to carry humanitarian daily rations, or Meals Ready to Eat, pallets of bottled water, blankets, tents, plastic sheeting, hygiene kits, and office equipment.
• Five members of the DART were en route to Pristina on June 14 on a UNHCR convoy. The June 14 convoy was one of the two scheduled UNHCR convoys to Pristina per day. Each convoy will consist of approximately 50 vehicles.
• DOD reported that 145 refugees, who came from Macedonia, departed Fort Dix on June 11 for U.S. sponsoring families, and 180 refugees are scheduled to depart today, June 14. The current refugee population at the base is 2,765. The total number of refugees flown to the U.S. is 6,642.

Date: June 12, 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 reports that Montenegrin authorities indicated that 4,400 Serbian civilians entered Montenegro from June 10-12. 900 entered the country on June 10, 1,600 on June 11, and 1,900 on June 12.
• From June 9-13, 140 refugees departed Montenegro for Albania.

Pescara, Italy Airdrops

• USAID Pescara Logistics Cell (PLC) reports that two planes completed airdrops of humanitarian commodities over Kosovo on June 14. The two planes dropped a combined total 5,925 HDRs and 1,450 high-protein biscuits. No security incidents were reported. To date 35,502 HDRs and 10,000 high-protein biscuits have been delivered.
• USAID Pescara Logistics Cell (PLC) reports that to date, 15,000 information leaflets have been distributed.

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 11, 59 calls were made to the public donation hotline. Since April 6, a total of 49,648 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.