Balkans Crisis (Albania) ICRC reaches Bajram Curri with much-needed aid
The ICRC has delivered aid to an isolated area in northern Albania where there is no international humanitarian presence because of the volatile security environment.
Last week an ICRC helicopter took food and medicines to the town of Bajram Curri in Tropoje, the northernmost district of Albania. Refugees arriving in Tropoje, which borders the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, are in a particularly precarious security situation, due especially to problems of criminality. In addition to the 2,200 refugees in the district, a further 4,000 people have been displaced from villages near the border.
Further assistance will be delivered to the refugees and displaced in Tropoje and to the hospital at Bajram Curri, which is treating around 15 war-wounded patients a day.
The ICRC continues to work closely with the Albanian Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to bring relief and medical assistance to the refugee population in Albania.
The ICRC is also striving to meet the enormous demand of people who have lost contact with relatives in Albania. At present the main services are radio broadcasts which have enabled thousands of refugees to let their relatives know of their whereabouts, and telephone links in six towns and cities, which are giving people the chance to talk directly to their families around the world.
Further information: Daloni Carlisle, ICRC Tirana, tel. +871 761 846 110 Amanda Williamson, ICRC Geneva, tel. +41 22 730 2678
During the weekend of 1 - 2 Mai 1999, for all information please call the press officer on duty Suzanne Berger, on (mobile) 41 79 217 32 01