U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT BUREAU FOR HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE (BHR) OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA) KOSOVO CRISIS Factsheet # 47 May 10, 1999
Regional: Refugees/IDPs from Kosovo Country Total Refugees Entries:last 24 hrs Departures:last 24 hrs Albania 422,700 15,677 on May 8/9 None Macedonia 241,200 220 1,015 Montenegro 63,200 None None *All numbers are estimates from UNHCR Headquarters. These numbers are constantly changing and being verified. Albania - UNHCR headquarters estimates that there are 422,700 refugees in Albania. A total of 7,677 refugees crossed the Morini border from Kosovo on Sunday. On May 8-9, more than 15,000 refugees crossed into Albania after being forced out of western Kosovo by a large-scale Serb offensive to clear the region. - According to UNHCR, refugees fleeing Kosovo over the weekend were from villages around the Pec area of western Kosovo and Istok to the northeast. - UNHCR/Tirana reports that 128,000 refugees are staying in camps and collective centers and nearly 108,000 refugees remain in the Kukes prefecture. 4, 946 refugees have been relocated from the Kukes prefecture during the last 24 hours. - UNHCR/Tirana also reports that only 650 Kosovar refugees have voluntarily moved from Macedonia to Albania since March 24. - According to the DART, an additional 1,000 refugees have voluntarily moved to Durres where crowded conditions already exist. The Government of Albania has made a request to donors to provide more refugee camps in the area. - According to the DART, local police at the Qatrom refugee camp in Korce are increasing security in the aftermath of recent camp criminal activities. Medical and food supplies have been reported missing. - Local police are also increasing their security patrols on the main road in Gjirokastra prefecture. Cars have been getting hijacked on this road which is the main supply route for relief supplies in transit from Greece. - As of May 10, Camp Hope has erected 188 tents and will begin accepting 400 refugees per day beginning on May 13. The estimated camp completion date is May 25. - A meeting is to be held today in Tirana between WFP, UNHCR and the Red Cross to discuss the current pipeline/distribution situation and possible modifications to the WFP-Red Cross division of responsibilities in Albania. - Ten moveable bakeries have been offered to WFP by a Turkish company for use in Albania and relocation into Kosovo when returns occur. The bakeries take 48 hours to dismantle and reassemble. WFP has initially accepted three, and is assessing sites in Fier, Korce, and Vlore. - WFP reports that new arrivals from the Pec and Djakovica areas are reporting food shortages within Kosovo. Macedonia - UNHCR headquarters estimates that there are currently 241,200 refugees in Macedonia, 220 of whom entered Macedonia over the last 24 hours, most with travel documents. UNHCR reports that 91,400 refugees are living in camps and transit centers and 114,273 refugees are living with host families (registered by the Macedonian Red Cross). UNHCR estimates that 4,910 refugees are located in border communities. - Some 90 refugees were preparing to be transported voluntarily to Albania today. In Albania, facilities for 6,000 refugees wanting to be moved out of crowded camps in Macedonia are ready. - The "Provide Refuge" flight is scheduled to arrive at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, late today with 402 refugees. - WFP reports that April distributions of rations to refugees in host families have been completed and that a May distribution schedule is being finalized. Registration of refugees living with host families is continuing. CAMP NAME NUMBER OF REFUGEES Stankovac I 24,000 - 848 refugees departed through the Humanitarian Evacuation Program (HEP) during the last 24 hours. Stankovac II 19,900 - 167 refugees departed through the HEP during the last 24 hours. Blace Reception Center No refugees - All refugees were moved to other sites. Bojane 4,700 - No new information. Neprosteno 7,500 - No new information. Radusa 1,000 - No new information. Radusa Collective Center 400 - No new information. Senokos 2,400 - No new information. Cegrane 31,500 - No new information. TOTAL 91,400 Montenegro - UNHCR headquarters estimates that there are 63,200 refugees in Montenegro. Commodities - No new information. Financial Support - To date the USG has provided over $188 million in response to the Kosovo crisis, beginning in March 1998. USAID/BHR $83,167,327 State/PRM $59,779,500 DOD $45,281,000 TOTAL $188,227,827 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. UNHCR Humanitarian Evacuations beginning April 6 to date Receiving Country Number of Refugees Australia 414 Austria 1,890 Belgium 1,205 Canada 1,560 Croatia 100 Czech Republic 458 Denmark 486 Finland 481 France 2,662 Germany 9,974 Iceland 70 Israel 106 Italy 561 Netherlands 2,014 Norway 2,783 Poland 909 Portugal 359 Romania 41 Slovakia 90 Slovenia 186 Spain 443 Swedan 1,078 Switzerland 186 Turkey 4,501 United Kingdom 635 United States 962 Total ** 34,154 ** Some refugees were moved to third countries by the GOM w/o UNHCR/IOM involvement: 10,000 to Albania, 5,500 to Greece, 2,243 to Turkey, and 88 to Croatia. 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 1-818-502-4288, 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), is operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week. distributed by - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Volunteers in Technical Assistance sitreps nat-dsr web: www.vita.org appeal fireline - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Kosovo - http://www.vita.org/kosovo.htm