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

Kosovo

• UNHCR reports that 10,600 Kosovars returned to Kosovo on July 8 from neighboring countries, bringing overall returns from countries in the region to 639,400 since 15 June.
• According to UNHCR, the Serbian Commissioner for Refugees now estimates 100,000 Serbs have been displaced from Kosovo into Serbia. Approximately 70,000 displaced ethnic Serbs from Kosovo are registered with the Yugoslav Red Cross but based upon the level of assistance being distributed the commissioner believes an additional 30,000 displaced are not yet registered.
• UNHCR reports that armed ethnic Albanians evicted several Roma families from their homes near Mitrovica. KFOR intervened, and the Roma were able to return, but the Roma indicated they would prefer to move to Serbia. UNHCR has indicated it is seeking a region-wide solution to the Roma situation in Kosovo, Serbia, and Macedonia. In addition, KFOR and UNHCR both noted an increase in property disputes, particularly among returning ethnic Albanians. In several cases, returnees have found squatters in their former residences.
• At the July 7 UN interagency coordination meeting, KFOR representatives reported a "worrying increase in arson fires" in Kosovo. Between July 6 and 7, KFOR had recorded 14 fires in the Multinational Brigade Central's area of responsibility.
• UNHCR and WPF have organized a return package distribution center near Kukes I camp. A return package including building materials, food and first aid is provided to refugee families.
• A UNHCR-sponsored Kosovo rapid village assessment detailing the humanitarian condition of 141 villages indicates that the people of Kosovo could still face a "serious humanitarian threat." Preliminary results of a survey of 141 of 2,000 villages in central Kosovo show that 64 percent of the housing stock in the areas assessed suffered severe damage or complete destruction. Food availability has dropped dramatically since late March; forty percent of the water sources surveyed are perceived to be of poor quality, or contaminated by debris; only 12 percent of existing health facilities still exist in villages surveyed; wheat production is expected to be 50 percent of normal; and losses in livestock are expected to reach between 40-50 percent.
• At the July 8 UNHCR presentation of the rapid village assessment, the Deputy Special Representative to the Secretary General (DSRSG) asked donors to provide more support for humanitarian activities in Kosovo. In addition, the DSRSG asked the humanitarian community to be prepared to link the immediate relief efforts to rehabilitation efforts and eventually reconstruction efforts. He cited the "rehabilitation gap" observed in other relief efforts around the world as something to be avoided. Shelter was identified as a key area where once the emergency winterization phase was completed, rehabilitation should link directly into reconstruction.
• UNHCR initial agriculture assessments indicate that domestic food production will be reduced by an estimated 40-60 percent from 1998 leaving Kosovo in a precarious food security situation. The loss of livestock and the disabling of farm equipment has further exacerbated the productive capacity of the agricultural sector.

Albania

• UNHCR reports that 7,796 refugees returned from Albania to Kosovo on July 8, including 993 on UNHCR convoys. To date, 374,000 refugees have returned to Kosovo from Albania, including 4,931 whose return was assisted by UNHCR.
• UNHCR reports that armed looters have descended on refugee camps in central and southern Albania abandoned since the repatriation movements began in mid-June. Looters at Dersnic camp in Korce were repulsed by private security guards, and AFOR troops have been deployed in the area to prevent looting. In Durres, looters took tents and equipment from empty camps as private security guards watched helplessly, and in Elbasan, the Turkish camp was looted and set on fire.
• UNHCR and its implementing partners have been moving relief supplies and equipment left behind in camps to Kosovo. These supplies and equipment include water and sanitation equipment, tents, plastic sheeting and generators.
• A Kosovo DART field assessment team visited Kukes, Albania, on July 7 in order to assess the return process and the level of assistance given to the returnees as they travel through Kukes on their way back to Kosovo. Two camps continue to be operational in Kukes as transit camps. Kukes II is a transit camp for the organized UNHCR return and Kukes I is a transit camp for spontaneous return. Kukes II is managed by CARE and has a capacity of 2,000 people but currently has only 200 residents. The Italians manage Kukes I, which has a capacity of 1,000-1,500.

Macedonia

• UNHCR reports that approximately 1,600 refugees returned from Macedonia to Kosovo on July 8, bringing the total returns to 211,300.
• Contrary to earlier reporting, UNHCR/Skopje reports UNHCR/IOM voluntary repatriation of returnees to Kosovo continues by road. UNHCR is using two buses to transport about 70 refugees to Kosovo daily. UNHCR also reports it continues to support the return of evacuated Kosovars from non-neighboring countries.
• Effective July 7, the UNHCR/IOM humanitarian evacuation program (HEP) ceased operating, due the decline in the number of volunteers. Ethnic Albanian refugees from Kosovo will not be evacuated to third countries. Evacuation of Roma and Serb populations may continue.
• NATO is providing relief agencies free cargo space on KFOR railcars traveling from Skopje to Pristina as well as selected locations in Kosovo. UNHCR is urging KFOR to expedite movement of civilians and relief commodities at the Blace border crossing point.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that despite reports of a meningitis outbreak in Macedonia, there are no epidemics in refugee sites currently. The WHO also reports only 30-40 percent of refugees in Macedonia use state pharmacy and facilities.
• According to WHO, about 60 percent of refugees with host families are reporting they are not receiving WFP-provided food regularly.
• UNHCR is focusing on trash collection in Radusa, Stenkovec I and Bojane refugee camps -- all of which were closed recently. UNHCR is also rehabilitating structures in these and other sites that had previously housed refugees. UNHCR is working with the GOM to identify ways in which some of these sites can be used by local communities for development purposes. Currently, all tents used in camps in Macedonia are being sent to Kosovo. Theft continues to be reported in camps in Macedonia as refugees and resident populations continue to move in and out of the camps.
• UNHCR reports that, in collaboration with the GOM, it aims to identify collective centers with the capacity to house 10-15,000 refugees in Macedonia in the coming weeks. UNHCR plans to winterize these centers while continuing to provide the proper level of services in camps that remain open.

Refugee Camp and Collective Center Information: Macedonia
Date: July 6, 1999, 00:00hrs 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)

• UNHCR reports that on July 8, 1,204 Kosovars returned spontaneously to Kosovo, bringing the overall returns to 50,500.
• UNHCR organized a second repatriation convoy from Montenegro on July 9. A total of 320 refugees went on UNHCR's convoy of six buses from the coastal town of Ulcinj heading for Kosovo, where it is expected later in the day.

Commodities

• No new information.

Financial Support

• To date, the U.S. Government (USG) has provided over $242 million in response to the Kosovo crisis since March 1998.

USAID/BHR	$107,560,393
State/PRM	$89,968,905
DOD	$45,281,000
TOTAL	$242,810,298