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

Kosovo

• The International Rescue Committee (IRC) reported that it had reopened its office in Prizren (IRC had a regional office there prior to its March evacuation). IRC plans to reopen another office in Pec. Shelter and water/sanitation teams will operate from both offices, while the office in Gnjilane will concentrate on establishing and maintaining a distribution system for food and non-food items.
• The European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) has established a separate distribution network that parallels the plan of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). According to the plan, the seven regional distribution centers and areas of responsibility (AORs) identified by UNHCR -- Pristina, Pec, Prizren, Djakovica, Urosevac, Gnjilane, and Mitrovica -- will serve as the primary network for the distribution of food and non food commodities. ECHO plans for eight lead NGOs to be responsible for primary distribution in their AORs and act as liaisons between ECHO, NGOs, and UNHCR.
• In order to supplement the ten basic items in the UNHCR return packages (plastic sheeting, blankets, mattresses, hygiene packs, jerry cans, can openers, candles, garbage bags, soap, and sanitary napkins) ECHO plans on distributing return kits consisting of kitchen sets, baby kits, shoes, and clothes. In addition, ECHO partners will distribute 20,000 emergency shelter packages, each of which will consist of reinforced plastic sheeting, plastic sheeting for windows, roofing timbers, boards, small beams, nails of various sizes, and tool kits containing duct tape, hammers, a saw, a bucket, a shovel, and a rope.
• KFOR reports that security incidents are declining. In addition, KFOR has secured all major supply routes and roads, allowing relief organizations to operate on these thoroughfares.
• UNHCR plans to commence organized repatriation on June 25, five days earlier than planned. This is due to the rapid spontaneous return of refugees already under way. UNHCR in cooperation with KFOR has identified three areas designated as secure environments for return: Pristina, Prizren, and Urosevac.
• UNHCR plans to end its Humanitarian Evacuation Program (HEP) in early July, except for a limited number of medical cases. UNHCR has asked countries who have participated in the HEP to remain patient and not repatriate refugees immediately.
• The Pristina-Skopje-Thessaloniki rail line is now functioning, according to the Civil-Military Coordination Center in Pristina. KFOR plans to test the northern Pristina-Mitrovica section on June 24-25. UNHCR hopes to use the line to assist in the repatriation refugees from the camps in Macedonia, as well as to assist in the transport of relief items from the Greek port of Thessaloniki.
• The first agriculture sector coordination meeting took place on June 24 in Pristina. A UN Food and Agriculture Organization assessment team plans to arrive in Pristina during the week of June 24-30.

Albania

• UNHCR headquarters estimates that 268,844 Kosovar refugees remain in Albania. UNHCR reports that approximately 25,700 people left Albania for Kosovo on June 24. According to UNHCR, approximately 175,800 Kosovar refugees have returned to Kosovo since June 15.
• UNHCR reports the following from the Kukes area: 5,000 refugees remain with host families, less than 10 refugees remain in the collective centers, and 133 refugees remain in the camp established by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
• According to UNHCR, three camps in the Kukes area -- Kukes I, Kukes II and the UAE camp -- will remain open and will be used as transit facilities. Those camps not utilized as transit centers will be taken down.
• DART/Albania reports that camps and collective centers in the Tirana area are empty, except for those refugees who do not have the financial means to return home on their own or those who live in insecure areas. At three of the five largest sites in the Tirana area a total of 1,100 refugees remained out of 6,700.
• According to UNHCR, congestion has decreased on the road from Kukes to Morini, with 70 percent of yesterday's traffic coming from commercial transport as opposed to privately owned vehicles. Additionally, 50 percent of yesterday's return comprised refugees living with host families.
• UNHCR reports that, to date, most returnees are coming from Kukes, Tirana, and Durres. Most are returning to Prizren, Djakovica, and Suvareka. Although Morini remains the main crossing point, the number of refugees crossing into Kosovo from Qafi I Prushit and Tropoja has been increasing.
• According to DART/Albania, refugees are receiving one-month food rations from WFP, as well as blankets, plastic sheeting, jerry cans, and hygiene items, when they pass through the way stations in Kukes. The one-month rations are being provided as recognition that returnees might need to provide food to family members who remained in Kosovo and are internally displaced.
• The Department of Defense (DOD) reports that 479 refugees departed Camp Hope in the last 24 hours. The current camp population is 2,032.

Macedonia

• UNHCR/Skopje reported that some 19,000 refugees crossed into Kosovo on June 24. Of this total, 8,645 left through Jazince, 10,256 left through Blace, and 115 refugees left through Tabanovce. UNHCR/Skopje is not providing current numbers of refugees in Macedonia due to the rapid outflow.
• UNHCR reports that most refugees are moving by taxis and buses using private funds, and the majority of them are leaving from host families.
• Under UNHCR's draft repatriation plan developed on June 20, some 250,000 refugees are expected by UNHCR to voluntarily repatriate from Macedonia by September.
• In light of the rapid refugee exodus from Macedonia, UNHCR has deferred a formal verification/registration process in the camps. The last formal registration/verification occurred June 20 in Cegrane. UNHCR is continuing to provide temporary cards to returnees at the border, however.
• DOD reported that 199 refugees departed Fort Dix yesterday for host families. Another 182 are scheduled to depart today. The current refugee population of Fort Dix 1,151.

Refugee Camp and Collective Center Information: Macedonia
Date: June 23, 1999 8:00 am GMT

Source: UNHCR Skopje.

Montenegro

• UNHCR headquarters estimates that 4,100 Kosovo Albanians returned to Kosovo from Montenegro on June 24, bringing the cumulative number of returns to Kosovo from Montenegro to 8,100. A total of 61,600 Kosovo Albanian refugees remain in Montenegro. There were no reports of Serb refugees crossing into Montenegro on June 24.

Commodities

• No new information.

** 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)

Financial Support

• To date, the U.S. Government (USG) has provided over $222 million in response to the Kosovo crisis since March 1998.

USAID/BHR	$107,560,393
State/PRM	$69,779,500
DOD	$45,281,000
TOTAL	$222,620,893

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 24, a total of 28 calls were received by the Kosovo Donations Coordination Center. Since April 6, a total of 49,982 calls have been received by the hotline.