U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT BUREAU FOR HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE (BHR) OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA) KOSOVO CRISIS Factsheet #23 April 12, 1999
Highlights: Regional - No new information to report. Albania - UNHCR reports that by April 12, 309,000 refugees from Kosovo have fled to Albania. The USAID/OFDA/Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) reports there are still about 100,000 refugees in the northern regions of Albania. This number has remained fairly constant due to the fact that while the Government of Albania's (GOA) is moving refugees to other areas of the country, additional refugees continue to arrive from Kosovo. - DART/Albania reports fighting near six villages along the Albania-Kosovo border. The fighting between the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) forces has resulted in two civilian deaths. Further reports indicate that FRY forces are mining roads leading out of Kosovo. - The Albania-Kosovo border at Morina remains open. Approximately 4,000 refugees crossed at this point on the night of April 11. All other crossing between Kosovo and Albania remain closed. - Albania's borders between Montenegro and Macedonia remain open. Approximately 520 refugees crossed into Albania at the Albania-Montenegro border at Shkoder on the night of April 11. - The U.S. Department of Defense reports that the Tirana airport is now capable of operating 24 hours a day. - The USS Inchon began providing helicopter airlift support to humanitarian assistance operations in the region on April 11. - The donor coordination efforts of the Emergency Management Group (EMG) continue to improve. The EMG is headed by UNHCR, with participation from NATO, the OSCE and international donors and operates in close collaboration with the GOA. The OSCE has taken the lead in information management for the EMG. As a result, logistical operations and overall coordination is improving between relief agencies. - WFP reports that food needs in the key areas of Kukes, Kruma, Shkoder and Korce are being met. Diber is the only area identified as needing additional food. - 54 MTs of Humanitarian Daily Rations (HDRs) arrived over the weekend; 15.8 MTs were immediately transferred to Kukes and Kruma. - GOA has entered into discussions with the ICRC/IFRC regarding the feeding of host families. It is proposed that WFP provide food to refugees, with ICRC/IFRC providing basic food and food parcels to host families throughout Albania. - On March 24, USAID/OFDA deployed a DART to Tirana, Albania. The team is comprised of a Team Leader, a Program Officer, a Food for Peace Officer, an Administrative Officer, a Military Liaison Officer, an Information Officer, a representative from the Department of State's Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (State/PRM), and a Communication Specialist. Macedonia - UNHCR reports that there are currently 119,380 refugees from Kosovo in Macedonia. According to the DART, there are approximately 39,380 refugees in five camps in Macedonia, 60,000 refugees with host families. An estimated 20,000 refugees have transferred to third countries. Of the 20,000 refugees transferred, approximately 16,000 went to Albania, 1,200 to Germany, 2,000 to Turkey, and 800 to other countries including Norway, New Zealand, and Australia. - According to the DART, the populations within the five major Macedonia refugee camps are: 1) 8,000 in Stankovic II; 2) 25,000 in Stankovic I (Brazda); 3) 2,100 in Bojane; 4)1,200 in Radusha; and 5) 3,080 in Neprosteno. (Note: In an effort to use the same terms of reference for refugee camp names, NATO, UNHCR, and the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) agreed to rename the Brazda camp, Stankovac I and Stankovac camp, Stankovac II. These two camps are located about 200 meters apart from each other.) - On April 11, the German NATO contingent began transferring administration of the Bojane refugee camp to Die Johaneter, a German NGO. - UNHCR and the OSCE personnel are beginning systematic registration of all refugees. Efforts are focused on Stankovac I (Brazda) and II camps. - NATO food commodities and the local purchase of food by NGOs have been the source of the hot meals distributed to children in the Stankovac I (Brazda) camp on April 11. - WFP has coordinated with British NATO troops to provide 3-4,000 children in the Stankovic I refugee camp with hot meals. This is significant as WFP and NGOs consider shifting from the use of HDRs in the camps to prepared foods. - CRS has signed an agreement with UNHCR to manage logistics planning and monitoring for distribution of food to the 60,000 refugees living with host families. The CRS implementing partner will be the Macedonian Red Cross. - According to the DART, NATO has set up 11 satellite phones in the Stankovac I (Brazda) camp for refugees to call relatives. UNHCR will be administering the telephones but funding is a major constraint. - On April 11, 80 refugees walked into the Stankovac I (Brazda) camp from the Blace border area and were immediately given shelter. - On April 11, an additional 76,000 HDRs consigned to the Catholic Relief Service arrived in Skopje. - On February 19, USAID/OFDA's DART in Kosovo moved from Pristina to Skopje, Macedonia. The team is comprised of a Team Leader, a Program Officer, a Field Officer, a Food for Peace Officer, an Administrative Officer, a Military Liaison Officer, an Information Officer, and a Communications Specialist. Background: - In late February 1998, following an unprecedented series of clashes in Kosovo between Serbian police forces and members of the 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. USG Humanitarian Assistance: Commodities - No new information to report. Financial Support - 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. - On April 7, State/PRM, which administers the ERMA funds, announced a donation of $3 million to the ICRC for assistance to the Kosovar Albanian refugees. - USAID/OFDA has provided approximately $2.1 million in new program assistance to respond to humanitarian needs in Macedonia. USAID/OFDA redirected approximately $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. - Since the beginning of the crisis in February 1998, the USG has provided an estimated $150 million to respond to the humanitarian needs relating to the crisis in Kosovo. 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 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. - 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 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. - FEMA is staffing the public donation hotline (1-800-USAID-RELIEF), which is operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week. - Past USAID/OFDA Factsheets can be obtained from the USAID web site at the following URL: distributed by - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Volunteers in Technical Assistance sitreps nat-dsr web: www.vita.org appeal fireline - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Kosovo: http://www.vita.org/disaster/kosovo.htm