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

Kosovo

• Kosovo Force (KFOR) continues to urge humanitarian agencies to avoid roadways that Serb forces are using as withdrawal routes. The only road currently controlled by KFOR is the Pristina-Skopje road. All other roads within Kosovo are designated as "travel at your own risk," and KFOR advises that people should travel only on paved roads and in convoys.
• KFOR has stated that it does not intend to provide escorts to humanitarian convoys. It will instead focus on providing a secure environment in which agencies can operate.
• The British brigade responsible for the Pristina area has established a Civil Military Cooperation (CIMIC) Center at the UNHCR warehouse compound. That facility is currently serving as the central hub for UNHCR operations.
• The current humanitarian operational environment in Pristina is presenting a unique opportunity for coordination of humanitarian activities, since NGOs, donors, and international organizations are co-located at the UNHCR warehouse/compound.
• KFOR has announced that, upon request from UNHCR, it is willing to provide helicopters to support the distribution of aid to IDP concentrations.
• Two mine clearance agencies are assisting UN agencies and NGOs to reclaim their former office and work areas, and UNICEF will lead a mine awareness training for NGOs operating in Kosovo.
• KFOR helicopter crews reported evidence of IDPs returning to their homes in the Phase II area, which includes regions east and west of Pristina. ICRC is expected to return to the Phase II area on June 16.
• UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF, and the British NGO Action Against Hunger delivered water, food, and basic relief supplies to an estimated 2,000 internally displaced persons in Glogovac on June 14. The IDPs, who were sheltered in local villages, did not appear to be significantly malnourished but did require basic medical services.
• According to the DART, water and electricity appear to be available in much of Pristina. Damage to buildings and infrastructure does not appear to be as significant as previously feared by humanitarian workers.

Albania

• UNHCR headquarters estimates there are 439,600 refugees in Albania. Approximately 5,000 have returned to Kosovo to date.
• 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 GOA/EMG, 32,350 refugees in Kukes prefecture are in tent camps and 2,384 are in collective centers.
• In cooperation with UNHCR, CARE has established three of seven proposed way stations in Albania to assist returning refugees with food and other assistance as they travel north to Kosovo.
• FAO and WFP report that they intend to provide supplies to an estimated 1.5 million IDPs through 29 distribution points within Kosovo.
• On June 14, DART Information Officer met with the Mother Theresa Society (MTS) in Albania. MTS has volunteers throughout Albania who are assisting UNHCR in documenting refugees and providing information on assistance available to refugees. In coordination with UNHCR, MTS plans to disseminate information on the process for and dangers of returning to Kosovo. MTS also plans to accompany refugees back to Kosovo and restart its programs in that province.
• USAID/BHR/OTI is cooperating with the newly re-established weekly newsmagazine Zeri to produce special editions on return conditions refugees can expect to find in Kosovo. These will be distributed to refugees in Albania and Macedonia. It will compile reports from NATO, wire services and international organizations to enable refugees to make informed decisions about their return.
• The DOD reports that the Camp Hope refugee population is currently 3,487 with an operational capacity of 13,824. CARE will assume the management of Camp Hope on June 30.
• DOD reports that 142 refugees departed Fort Dix on June 15. An additional 171 refugees are scheduled to depart Fort Dix today.
• 380 refugees are scheduled to arrive at JFK airport in New York today. They will be placed immediately with U.S. host families.

Macedonia

• UNHCR headquarters estimated there are 238,900 refugees in Macedonia. No refugees have entered Macedonia in the last 24 hours, however 2,800 have returned to Kosovo.
• UNHCR headquarters reported that on June 15, 664 refugees were transferred by air to third countries through the UNHCR/IOM Humanitarian Evacuation Program.
• On June 15, UNHCR Skopje reported that 103,100 refugees are living in camps and transit centers, and the Macedonian Red Cross estimates 135,800 refugees are living with host families and elsewhere.
• According to news reports, a small UN advance team of political specialists and public administration experts arrived from Macedonia in Pristina June 15 to meet with local Pristina leaders.

Date: June 16, 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 the Government of Montenegro estimated 4,200 Serbian civilians had entered Montenegro on June 15. To date, a total of 17,500 Serbian civilians have crossed the border into Montenegro since June 10.
• As part of the "Northern Initiative" in Montenegro, USAID/OTI is working with the Prime Minister's office and a private firm in Italy to deliver eight re-furbished utility trucks to economically depressed municipalities in the north. The Italian company will supply used garbage trucks, and OTI will re-paint and provide other minor repairs.

Pescara, Italy—Airdrops

• USAID Pescara Logistics Cell (PLC) reports that two planes completed three airdrops of humanitarian commodities over Kosovo on June 16. The two planes dropped a combined total of 9,030 humanitarian daily rations (HDRs). No security incidents were reported. To date 50,682 HDRs and 10,000 high-protein biscuits have been delivered.
• On its second sortie of the day, one aircraft experienced a mechanical problem with the belt system used to release the cargo. The aircraft was unable to complete its airdrop, and returned to Pescara with its cargo. The aircraft is scheduled to undergo repairs and be out of service on June 17.

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 1-202-667-8227 x106, 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 15, 45 calls were made to the public donation hotline. Since April 6, a total of 49,752 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.