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

Kosovo

• Kosovo Force (KFOR) deployment to Kosovo and the withdrawal of Serb forces are going according to plan, NATO officials report. However, minor traffic congestion problems remain. Serbian withdrawal from all of Kosovo is expected to end on June 20. Four Yugoslav units in Prizren received an extension until June 16.
• KFOR is expected to secure all roads in Kosovo by June 18, which would allow humanitarian convoys to reach IDPs in the region. Increased road access may also obviate the need for airdrops. USAID's Pescara Logistics cell reports that airdrops of humanitarian daily rations into Kosovo scheduled for June 17 were canceled due to inclement weather.
• On June 17, a convoy consisting of 20 truckloads of relief aid from UNHCR, WFP, and the British Department for International Development (DFID) delivered relief items to Pristina. UNHCR organized convoys to Prizren, Glogovac, and Urosevac on June 16.
• DART reports relief organizations are expanding their reach in municipalities outside Pristina. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) deployed staff and equipment in Prizren on June 16 and reports minimal damage in the town. CRS will begin distributing assistance outside of Prizren where there appears to be more extensive damage. CRS staff has received reports that the town of Suva Reka was completely leveled.
• The German KFOR Brigade has established a Civil Military Cooperation (CIMIC) Center in Prizren.
• DART reports that on June 16 UNHCR and Mercy Corps International (MCI) accessed the western town of Pec and observed heavy structural damage. A three-truck convoy set out from Pristina to Pec on June 17 - the fourth day of UNHCR's resumed operations in Kosovo. The convoy is carrying non-food items - plastic sheeting, tents, hygienic kits, blankets and jerry cans.
• UNHCR plans to re-establish its office in Pec. The first UNCHR convoy from Pristina to western Kosovo found the former satellite office in Pec vandalized. The UNHCR office in Prizren was reportedly booby-trapped.
• DART reports International Medical Corps (IMC) has established two teams in the U.S. KFOR area of responsibility: one in Gjilan and one in Urosevac.
• KFOR reported on June 16 that the cease-fire between Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and Serb forces is generally holding. NATO is currently negotiating an agreement with the KLA on their de-militarization.
• DART reports that coordination among donors and relief agencies is strong and growing. DART plans to set up a V-SAT communication system in Pristina to assist humanitarian efforts.
• On June 16, UNHCR Special Envoy Dennis McNamara briefed the relief community in Pristina on the structure of the UN coordination system in Kosovo and announced the establishment of an emergency task force on returning refugees. McNamara also reported that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has set up an office in Pristina.
• WFP reports it dispatched a second truck carrying 8 MT of mixed food commodities to Prizren from Kukes on June 15.
• CRS reports that it sent 4 trucks carrying 2,080 3-day family food packs each to Pristina on June 15. One truckload of food packs was delivered to the local Caritas for distribution in Pristina while the remaining 3 trucks went to Prizren. A second convoy of 4 trucks left for Pristina on June 16.

Albania

• UNHCR headquarters estimates there are 424,600 refugees in Albania. Approximately 20,000 have returned to Kosovo to date.
• An estimated 800-1,000 ethnic Albanian refugees per hour are moving from Kukes in Albania toward Prizren in Kosovo.
• Throughout Albania, the EMG reports that there are 86,930 refugees in tent camps, 95,542 in collective centers, 263,827 in host families and other accommodations.
• According to the GOA/EMG, 32,530 refugees in Kukes prefecture are in tent camps and 2,384 are in collective centers. These figures may be somewhat outdated as there has been considerable refugee movement out of Kukes in the last few days.
• The majority of those individuals heading home to Kosovo from Albania are those who are self-sufficient and have private modes of transportation.
• With the help of NGO partners, UNHCR has set up a medical post and water supply at the Albanian-Kosovo border. UNHCR also is setting up two emergency posts on the road to Prizren in Kosovo for those in need of assistance, about two kilometers and seven kilometers from the border.
• The Ministry of Local Government reported that 5,005 refugees returned spontaneously to Kukes prefecture from elsewhere in Albania on June 16, bringing the total number of persons that have returned to Kukes to 8,143.
• UNHCR will begin its organized return of refugees from Albania to Kosovo in approximately two weeks due to security concerns. UNHCR anticipates being able to transport 2,000 refugees across the border per day from Kukes prefecture once the organized return process begins.
• UNHCR estimates that it has the capacity to accommodate an additional 50,000 refugees in transit in Kukes prefecture above and beyond the current refugee population. Those refugees who arrive in the prefecture and must be accommodated temporarily before crossing the border will be housed in the established tent camps and collective centers. UNHCR recent established three overflow camps in Kukes to also serve as transit facilities.
• The roads leading back to Kosovo are heavily trafficked. The OSCE reports some injuries in Albania from land mines and unexploded ordnances as refugees return from the main roadway leading from Kukes into Kosovo.
• DOD is moving forward with a phased approach to winterization of Camp Hope. Once an assessment is made on how many refugees will be in camp over the winter, the decision to complete the winterization will be made. Contractors and security forces are scheduled to depart Camp Eagle and Liberty by June 24.

Macedonia

• UNHCR headquarters estimated there are 234,400 refugees in Macedonia. No refugees have entered Macedonia in the last 24 hours. An estimated 2,800 refugees have returned to Kosovo.
• On June 16, UNHCR Skopje reported there are an estimated 102,300 in camps and transit centers, and 132,10 refugees living with host families.
• UNHCR headquarters reported that on June 16, a total of 633 refugees in Macedonia departed under the UNHCR-IOM humanitarian evacuation program, bringing the overall count to 87,156.
• DART and PRM traveled to the Blace border on June 16 and observed hundreds of refugees returning to Kosovo. Most of the refugees had been staying with host families in Macedonia.
• DART reports the first phase of UNHCR's refugee re-registration campaign was initiated in smaller camps in Neprosteno, Radusa, Senokos, and Bojane. This phase involves rapid data collection and issuance of temporary identification cards. These cards are also used as ration distribution cards. The second phase will involve more detailed information for issuance of individual identification cards.
• 171 refugees departed Fort Dix on June 16 to reside with their host families. 157 are scheduled to leave on June 17. The current population at Fort Dix now totals 2,280 refugees.

Refugee Camp and Collective Center Information: Macedonia
Date: June 17, 1999 8:00 am GMT

Source: UNHCR Skopje.

Montenegro

• UNHCR reports that the Government of Montenegro estimated 470 Serbian civilians had entered Montenegro on June 16. To date, a total of 17,970 Serbian civilians have crossed the border into Montenegro since June 10. UNHCR reports that about half the number are proceeding to Serbia and the rest are staying in host families in Montenegro and are being assisted by the Macedonian Red Cross.
• UNHCR estimates a total of 69,700 refugees in Montenegro.
• WFP reports that that displaced ethnic Albanians in Montenegro have not started going back to Kosovo. They reportedly fear being attacked while passing through the republic. UNHCR has indicated that it is planning security measures for an organized return from Montenegro after June 20.
• CRS reports that the Montenegrin Red Cross has issued an appeal to all humanitarian organizations working in Montenegro to divert necessary assistance to newly arrived IDPs. According to CRS, many of the arriving Serbs are finding accommodation with friends and families, but others are taking shelter in bus stations and in one collective center in Berane.
• The local news has reported that most families were leaving Kosovo as units, but that many men were indicating that after settling their families in a "safe place" they would return to Kosovo to protect their property.

** 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)

Pescara, Italy—Airdrops

• USAID Pescara Logistics Cell (PLC) and DOD report that airdrops of humanitarian commodities (specifically humanitarian daily rations or HDRs) schedules for June 17 had to be canceled due to inclement weather. To date 50,682 HDRs and 10,000 high-protein biscuits have been delivered.

• 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

Public Donation Information

• On June 16, 36 calls were made to the public donation hotline. Since April 6, a total of 49,788 calls have been received by the hotline.