U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT BUREAU FOR HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE (BHR) OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA) KOSOVO CRISIS Factsheet #16 April 5, 1999
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 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. This marked the beginning of further Serb offenses in Kosovo, which brought heavy fighting. 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. By the time NATO operations began against Serbia on March 24, 1999, 260,000 people had been displaced within Kosovo and 199,000 people had been displaced to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and other countries. U.S. GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE (estimated) $150,000,000 On March 31, President Clinton announced a package of $50 million in aid to address the urgent humanitarian needs of those affected by the conflict in Kosovo. Of this amount $25 million will come from the Emergency Refugee and Migration Account (ERMA) and is to be disbursed to UNHCR and other international entities involved in the relief effort. The other $25 million will be comprised of supplies and services from the Department of Defense, including relief materials, shelter, and food. In addition to this funding, the U.S. Agency for International Development's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) has provided an estimated $3.2 million in new assistance to respond to the humanitarian needs in Macedonia, and redirected some $3.7 million from relief efforts in Kosovo to humanitarian operations in Macedonia, for an estimated total of $7 million in assistance to the growing refugee crisis in that country. USAID/OFDA has provided $257,800 in relief assistance to Albania, and has sent a seven person Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to Tirana. Including the recently announced $50 million in aid for the crisis, the USG has provided an estimated $150 million to respond to the humanitarian needs relating to the crisis in Kosovo, since the beginning of the crisis in February 1998. SUMMARY - Over 360,000 people displaced from Kosovo since March 24, according to UNHCR on April 4. - 115,000 people have arrived at the Macedonian border since March 24, and 65,000 of these currently remain trapped in no-man's land at the border between Kosovo and Macedonia. The total number of refugees who have arrived in Macedonia or at its border with Kosovo since the beginning of the conflict in February 1998 is 131,000. - UNHCR reported that the main refugee movements over the weekend were into Albania, where 34,000 people arrived on Saturday and Sunday. Over 204,000 refugees have arrived in Albania since March 24, bringing the total number of refugees in the country to 222,000. - 33,000 newly displaced persons in Montenegro since March 24, for a total of 58,000, according to UNHCR. CURRENT HUMANITARIAN SITUATION AND RESPONSE KOSOVO Numbers Affected: Over 360,000 people have been displaced from Kosovo into neighboring Albania, Macedonia, and Montenegro since March 24, UNHCR reported on April 4. The North Atlantic Council (NAC) reported on April 2 that, including those people displaced prior to the conflict, there are 634,000 people from Kosovo displaced in the region, one third of Kosovo's population. No numbers are available on the current internal displacements of ethnic Albanians or Serbs in Kosovo. NATO reports that at the current rate of displacement, Kosovo will be emptied of Albanians in 10-20 days. Prior to the beginning of NATO operations on March 24, UNHCR estimated that there were 260,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Kosovo. UNHCR's estimates of displacements from Kosovo to other areas of Serbia/Montenegro and Europe prior to March 24 are as follows: 55,000 to other parts of Serbia/Montenegro; 10,000 refugees in Bosnia-Herzegovina; and 100,000 to other areas of Europe. Since March 24, an additional 5,000 refugees have entered Bosnia-Herzegovnia, mostly Muslims from the Sandjak region of Serbia fearing Serbian reprisal. No new data is available on refugees fleeing to areas of Europe other than the former Yugoslav republics and Albania. Humanitarian Needs and International Response: No information is available at this time from international relief agencies as to the needs in Kosovo. It is reported that there are no food stocks available in Kosovo, and refugees are reporting destruction of their homes and forced displacement from their villages. Numerous first hand accounts describe the systematic expulsion of ethnic Albanians from all areas of Kosovo, and those who have been forced out of Pristina say it is a "ghost town". The final two international relief agencies working in Kosovo, ICRC and MSF, have now left. The local NGO, the Mother Teresa Society (MTS), has suspended operations due to the insecurity prevailing throughout Kosovo, and the destruction of several of their warehouses. U.S. Government Response: The USAID/OFDA Disaster Assistance Response Team has not been able to work in Kosovo since the NATO bombing campaign began. As soon as the situation allows, the DART will return to Kosovo to continue its assistance activities. Prior to its departure, the DART had programmed over $5.6 million for health, shelter, water/sanitation programs, and other emergency needs. MACEDONIA Numbers Affected: UNHCR reported on April 4 that 65,000 people remain trapped in no-man's land on the border between Kosovo and Macedonia at the Blace border crossing, without food, water, or shelter. This number does not include those moving towards the border from Kosovo. While UNHCR field staff reported that some crossings were taking place into Macedonia, the pace is extremely slow due to the normal immigration procedures that the Macedonian authorities are instituting. Since March 25, 115,000 refugees have arrived at or crossed the border into Macedonia, for a total of 131,000 since the crisis began in February 1998. Humanitarian Needs and International Response: UNHCR and Macedonian Red Cross workers at the border registering refugees are overwhelmed, but UNHCR is increasing its staff in Macedonia to step up its response capacity. The Macedonian Red Cross (MRC) is also stepping up its role in the relief effort. It has set up tents to process the refugees trapped in the hills, and developed a system of tractors and carts to transport the refugees. UNHCR is distributing blankets, bread, water, and juice to the people amassed at the border during the night; and a local ethnic Albanian run NGO, El Hilal, is distributing relief supplies and providing food and water to the refugees who are crossing the border on foot. The World Food Program is bringing in 210 MT of food this week to respond to the crisis. This is expected to be enough for 15,000 refugees for one month. NATO has announced that its12,000 troops in Macedonia will begin assisting with the humanitarian response by building shelters and transporting food and water. The troops were already at work building shelter sites for 20,000 refugees. The Government of Macedonia (GOM) has opened three collective centers for refugees, one in Gostivar and two in sports halls in Skopje, and is planning to open another three, UNHCR reports. UNHCR distributed blankets and mattresses to the centers, and has asked for additional tents and blankets to assist the refugees. The Netherlands was planning to send off a planeload of tents for 6,000 people on April 4. The flight was to include mattresses and sleeping bags as well. Shelter has also been provided by relatives or host families for 20,000 or more refugees who have arrived in country. Host families could potentially take in a total of 50,000 refugees from Kosovo. Health needs are being addressed by six mobile clinic operations (see below under USG Response). Doctors of the World/Greece (DOW/G) is also repairing ambulantas in the Tetovo region, and has provided medicine and equipment to three ambulantas. Those relief organizations previously in country, the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Doctors of the World/Greece (DOW/G), and the Macedonian Red Cross (MRC), are now complemented by relief organizations previously working in Kosovo, which have now moved their operations to Macedonia. The agencies previously in Macedonia have been channeling commodities through the MRC to refugees residing with host families. One problem NGOs are experiencing in becoming fully operational is a new registration requirement by the GOM. UNHCR is consulting with the GOM to speed up registration of NGOs so as to allow them to become operational as quickly as possible. NGOs which were not previously working in Macedonia must also register with UNHCR as implementing partners. U.S. Government Response: USAID/OFDA has provided over $7 million to respond to humanitarian needs in Macedonia. Over $3.7 million in USG resources previously programmed for the relief effort in Kosovo have been redirected to respond to the needs in Macedonia. Current redirection of programs has resulted in: six mobile health clinic operations, four of which are covering refugees at four border crossings; assessment of water/sanitation requirements in collective settlements and of overcrowding in host family/village settlements; water/sanitation technical assistance in the collective settlements; assessments of rehabilitation requirements at collective center sites identified for refugees; and logistical assistance for the relief effort in Macedonia. USAID/OFDA has also provided over $1.1 million in commodities, the first shipment of which has now arrived in Skopje. These commodities include 650 boxes of plastic sheeting (1,560,000 sq. ft.) which can shelter 6,500 families, 1000 tents which can house eight people each (total of 8,000 people), 20,000 hygiene kits, 54,000 blankets, and 5 water bladders holding 10,000 liters of water each (which can provide the minimum water requirement of 20 liters of water per person per day for 2500 people). USAID/OFDA has funded Mercy Corps International to distribute emergency commodities such as food, clothing, mattresses, shoes, blankets, kitchen utensils, sanitary napkins, school supplies, diapers for 75,000 beneficiaries (25,000 refugees, 25,000 host families, and 25,000 social cases). The Department of Defense has also sent a shipment of tents and sleeping blankets to Skopje which has arrived and is being sorted for distribution. ALBANIA Numbers Affected: Over 204,000 refugees have arrived in Albania since March 24, 1999, according to UNHCR on April 4. An estimated 34,000 of these refugees arrived during the weekend, most at the Qafa Prushit and Morina border crossings. This brings the total number of Kosovar refugees in Albania to over 222,000, UNHCR estimates. The Government of Albania (GOA) had informed UNHCR that it would accept a maximum of 200,000 refugees. OSCE reports that border crossings are slow due to the registration process refugees must undergo. Refugees continue to amass on the Kosovo side of the border. Humanitarian Needs and International Response: The situation at the Qafa Prushit border crossing is desperate, UNHCR reports. Ten children had died of dehydration in the mountainous area, and the situation is expected to get worse unless relief operations in the area expand. From this border crossing, refugees have to walk 35 km on foot to better conditions in Krume or Kukes, because trucks have not been able to move the refugees to these locations. However, three trucks were sent on Saturday night with blankets and biscuits, UNHCR reports. OSCE reports that food and water are still desparately needed at the border. The Government of Albania and UNHCR meet daily to coordinate assistance to refugees arriving in country and UNHCR emergency teams are arriving in critical areas to respond to refugee needs. However, coordination of relief efforts continues to be a challenge, due to the difficult terrain of a country which is a new area of operations for many relief agencies. NATO has announced plans to send 8,000 troops to Albanian to help assist the refugees; and there are at least four NGOs operating in the country. But distribution of relief supplies in Albania remains difficult due to the dispersal of refugees among a number of different areas and the difficult access to these refugees. Transport of supplies is crucial to meeting the food needs, but because of the closure of Tirana's international airport and the difficult access to northern Albania, alternative options are being considered. The GOA has requested helicopters to transport relief supplies to Kukes and move refugees to Tirana. International relief agencies and NATO will determine whether this is a viable option. Other transport options include airlift or trucking of supplies into the country. Supplies may also be shipped into the Greek port of Thessaloniki and the Italian port of Brindisi for onward transport. The GOA has also requested trucks and helicopters to transport refugees from border areas to other locations, particularly those who need medical attention. The GOA has transported 35,000 refugees from the border area itself, but an estimated 90,000 to 100,000 remain at the border. UNHCR has identified an immediate need for at least 500,000 humanitarian daily rations (HDRs) to feed the refugees who are in transit and have no access to cooking facilities. Food rations and wheat have been sent to Kukes by the World Food Program (WFP) and the GOA. WFP has delivered 10 MT of high protein biscuits to Kukes and has sent an additional convoy of 40 MT of wheat flour and 10 MT of biscuits to the area. Other food supplies have begun to arrive in northern Albania, with the transport of 500kg of military rations by three French army helicopters previously stationed in Bosnia as part of the stabilization force, SFOR. These helicopters will be bringing 1.5 MT of food per day to Kukes from Tirana. Also, a spokesperson for the World Food Program (WFP) reported that the first C-17 carrying 28,000 humanitarian daily rations for Albania had left the United States on April 4, and has now arrived in Tirana. WFP has 781 MT of food stocks on hand in Albania in the form of wheat flour, beans, and vegetable oil -- enough to feed 56,250 refugees for one month. WFP is also prepositioning additional supplies in Thessaloniki, Greece. In the region, WFP has 21,000 MT of food and NGOs have another 10,000 MT of food, most of which is in Bar, Montenegro. WFP will attempt to reship 3,500 MT of food from Bar, Montenegro to Durres, Albania. The USAID Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) has sufficient P.L. 480 Title II food in the region to feed 500,000 people for three months. Title II food makes up part of the WFP and NGO stocks. Other donors, such as the Italians and the Swiss, are bringing food aid and medical assistance as well. Shelter is another critical need but shelter/campsite possibilities are limited at this time in Albania. The GOA is experiencing difficulty locating appropriate sites for refugees, as much of the suitable land is privately owned. The USAID/OFDA Albania DART reports that the ability of the host community to absorb new refugees has been surpassed. UNHCR determined that tents will be necessary as temporary shelter in Kukes for refugees in transit. UNHCR says it has identified housing for 4,000 in collective centers and 10,000 in host families. OSCE reports that an increasing number of people are dying at or near the border and that medical and sanitation facilities are desparately needed in these areas. The USAID/OFDA Albania DART reports that compared to previous arrivals, many recent refugees from Kosovo are in extremely poor health condition, as many of them have been walking longer distances and/or have been hiding in the hills for several days before they reached Albania. There are no or very limited sanitation and water facilities in areas where refugees have gathered. As such, the potential for disease outbreaks is extremely high. NGOs are providing medical assistance in the form of mobile clinics, drugs, and hygiene kits. U.S. Government Response: USAID/OFDA deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to Albania on March 31. The DART arrived in Tirana on April 2, and is setting up operations. The DART has begun to meet with UNHCR, NGOs and the Government of Albania to participate in coordination of response efforts. The mission of the DART is to advise the U.S. Ambassador on humanitarian issues, assess and report on the humanitarian situation and response, support the efforts of UNHCR, WFP, and NGOs working in the region, and to consult with NATO. The DART will be identifying needs not being met by current humanitarian efforts and coordinating the U.S. Government's response to the refugee needs. The DART consists of a team leader, deputy team leader/program officer, information officer, military liaison officer, communications officer, food officer, and an administrative officer. A Department of State Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration (State/PRM) refugee officer will also be joining the team. State/PRM also has a refugee officer in country who is coordinating with UNHCR. USAID/OFDA has shipped 700 tents, housing 8 persons each, and 20,000 5-gallon plastic water jugs, which have now arrived in Tirana. The cost of this assistance, including transport, amounts to $257,800. USAID/OFDA has also redirected some NGO funding from Kosovo for the distribution of 15,000 sets of children's winter clothing in northern Albania. The Department of Defense has shipped 500,000 humanitarian daily rations (HDRs) to Albania, and a U.S. Air Force plane arrived in Tirana on April 4 with 17,000 meals-ready-to-eat (MREs), three pallets of water containers, and high protein biscuits. MONTENEGRO Numbers Affected: Arrivals of displaced persons are slower in Montenegro than in Macedonia and Albania, UNHCR reports. Since March 24, UNHCR says that 33,000 people have arrived in Montenegro from Kosovo, for a total of 58,000 displaced persons who are currently in the Yugoslav republic. Humanitarian Needs and International Response: UNHCR and the Montenegrin Red Cross distributed food to refugees in the Ulcinj municipality on April 1, and have been distributing food in Rozaje on April 2, UNHCR reports. The NGOs Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Mercy Corps International (MCI) are working with WFP and the Montenegrin Red Cross to do an emergency distribution of food to displaced persons newly arrived in Montenegro. U.S. Government Response: The USG is developing contingency plans to respond to the humanitarian needs in Montenegro. REGION-WIDE ASSISTANCE PLANS UNHCR reports that an Air Operations Cell has been set up at its Geneva headquarters to coordinate humanitarian airlifts in the region. The cell will coordinate with NATO's Euro-Atlantic Disaster Relief Coordination Center for logistical support and to clear all humanitarian flights into military airspace in the Balkans. UNHCR has been drawing up contingency plans to respond to the non-food needs of up to 350,000 refugees in the region. Now that this number has been exceeded, UNHCR is planning for an additional 300,000 refugees, These plans assume no access to large stocks currently in Serbia and Montenegro. Based on the stocks of these non-food items available in region, UNHCR notes shortfalls of blankets, jerry cans, kitchen sets, stoves, hygiene parcels and mattresses. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, made an appeal for other countries to open up their borders to refugees from Kosovo. The European Union Presidency has made an initial offer to take in 20,000 people. According to the NATO spokesperson, a number of countries have offered to take in refugees, at least on a temporary basis: Germany will take in 40,000 refugees, the United States 20,000, Turkey 20,000, Norway 6,000, Greece 5,000 and Canada 5,000. Austria and Ireland have also committed to taking in some refugees. USAID's Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) is using the figure of 1 million refugees and displaced as a contingency planning figure, and will be working with WFP, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and NGOs to ensure that sufficient food resources are identified and made available as soon as possible. BREAKDOWN OF USG ASSISTANCE TO DATE U.S. Government Assistance committed to the Kosovo crisis to date (estimated) $150,060,163 USAID/BHR Assistance $49,426,163 BHR/OFDA $19,772,863 BHR/FFP $28,553,300 BHR/OTI $1,100,000 State/PRM $74,742,000 DOD $25,892,000 PUBLIC DONATION INFORMATION FOR THE KOSOVO CRISIS Disasters often generate an outpouring of interest and concern by the American people which lead to spontaneous collections of relief supplies, i.e. food, clothing, medical supplies, etc. In the interest of effective coordination of such public response, we encourage concerned citizens to provide monetary donations to appropriate organizations. USAID does not recommend in-kind donations of clothing, food, medicines, or other goods as the handling, storage, and transport of these materials from the U.S. to the Balkans would be extremely complicated, time-consuming, and expensive. This can also detract from the provision of more urgently needed relief assistance. USAID/OFDA cannot provide assistance for the transport of donated goods. USAID encourages the public to contact directly those private voluntary organizations (PVOs) which are currently working in Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia-Herzegovina to provide monetary donations. Financial contributions to PVOs will allow these professional aid organizations to purchase exactly what is most needed by the victims of the conflict in Kosovo and to pay for transport and other costs associated with the distribution of relief supplies. Cash contributions allow humanitarian agencies based in the Balkans to procure food, medicine, clothing, shelter materials, and other relief goods locally and regionally, thereby greatly speeding the delivery of this assistance to those most in need. A list of PVOs that can provide support to individuals affected by the Kosovo crisis may be obtained by contacting InterAction at 202- 667-8227, ext. 106 or via the internet at www.interaction.org. InterAction is a coalition of voluntary humanitarian and development organizations that work overseas. Those interested in managing specific technical relief services or commodities should contact Volunteers in Technical Assistance's (VITA) Disaster Information Center for information and guidelines (703) 276-1914. The conflict in Kosovo began in late February 1998. This figure reflects the amount of funding that has been given to Kosovo and the surrounding region affected by the conflict (through refugee flows) since that time. distributed by - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Volunteers in Technical Assistance sitreps nat-dsr web: www.vita.org appeal fireline - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Kosovo: http://www.vita.org/disaster/kosovo.htm