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U.S. Department of State
Released by the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM)

KOSOVO HUMANITARIAN SITUATION UPDATE

Situation Report 6 -- April 6, 1999

Key Facts and New Developments

The first groups of refugees were flown out of Macedonia yesterday - 1,138 to Turkey and 63 medical evacuees and families to Norway. This is part of multi-nation response to share the burden of providing for the hundreds of thousands of refugees massed in Macedonia and Albania.

President Clinton announced yesterday that the U.S. is prepared to provide temporary asylum for up to 20,000 Kosovo Albanian refugees. The details are being worked out and will be announced shortly.

Other countries are making similar offers:

Germany	10,000	Austria	5,000
Canada	5,000	Turkey	20,000
Norway	6,000	Croatia	5,000
Greece	5,000	Ireland	1,000
Portugal	1,500	Romania	5,000
Sweden	1,500	Australia	4,000

Every effort will be made to ensure that families stay together and that evacuation is voluntary, in accordance with UNHCR's guidelines.

The President named U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Brian Atwood as Coordinator for the overall U.S. Government humanitarian response to the Kosovo crisis on April 5.

The systematic expulsion of Kosovo Albanians continues. Over 450,000 refugees have been forced into neighboring countries in less than two weeks. There are now over 284,000 in Albania and 136,000 in Macedonia including several thousand waiting to cross the border. This brings the total of refugees and internally displaced to over 900,000 since March 1998 (see attached chart).

The Department of Defense has begun flying in the first of over a million humanitarian daily rations to be sent to the region. Tents, plastic sheeting, , and ther supplies have also begun to arrive in the region from the United States and other countries.

Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration Julia Taft is leading an inter-agency delegation to a UNHCR-chaired meeting in Geneva today to coordinate the relief effort.

The United States has provided over $150 million for humanitarian assistance for the region since March 1998, $50 million of which was authorized by the President on March 31. (See attached charts).

NATO is providing assistance, in coordination with UNHCR, to the refugees in Macedonia. A center has now been established to provide food, medical care and shelter to many of the refugees trapped in no-man's land between Kosovo and Macedonia.

Background

Serb offensives in late December caused displacements of several thousand people. These displacements continued in January, and February. Following the breakdown of the Rambouillet talks and the withdrawal of the Organization for Security and Cooperation Kosovo Verification Mission on March 20, conflict between the two sides intensified. By the time NATO airstrikes began on March 24, tens of thousands of Kosovo Albanians were already fleeing heavy fighting throughout Kosovo.

Current Situation

Serb forces continue to systematically expel Kosovo Albanians. According to latest estimates, over 450,000 Kosovo Albanians have become refugees or displaced in less than two weeks, bringing the total number of refugees and internally displaced since March 1998 to over 900,000.

NATO and UNHCR are coordinating relief operations to provide assistance to the refugees in the countries in the region. The World Food Program has pre-positioned food in Albania and further shipments are being directed to the region. Other international organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and non-governmental organizations are also engaged in the relief effort.

Two USG Disaster Assistance Response Teams comprised of State Department and USAID officials are working in Albania and Macedonia to assess the emergency response plans and requirements in order to meet the urgent humanitarian needs.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Mrs. Ogata will visit Italy, Albania and Macedonia April 7-9.

Kosovo Refugee/IDP Summary Sheet
Source: UNHCR
				as of 4/2, 0415 est as of 4/6/99 est 6:00
				NEW ARRIVALS GRAND
		3/98-3/24/99			last 24 hours	TOTAL since 3/24			TOTAL
IDPs	Kosovo	260,000			-	-	/1		260,000
in FRY	Montenegro	25,000			1,000	36,700			61,700
	Serbia	30,000			-	20,000	*		50,000
		315,000			1,000	56,700	/1		371,700
Refugees	Albania	18,500			40,000	266,000			284,500
	Bosnia	10,000			-	7,250	**		17,250
	Bulgaria	-			-	-			-
	Croatia	-			-	330			330
	"Europe"	100,000			-	-			100,000
	Greece	-			-	-			-
	Hungary	-			-	-			-
	Italy	-			-	-			-
	FYROMacedonia	16,000			-	120,000	***		136,000
	Romania	-			-	-			-
	Slovenia	-			-	-			-
	Turkey	-			-	6,000			6,000
		144,500			40,000	399,580			544,080
TOTAL		459,500			41,000	456,280	/1		915,780

/1 Does not include estimates of IDPs in Kosovo due to lack of verifiable reporting on the ground.
It is estimated, however that there could be as many as 400-500,000 internally displaced in Kosovo.
(*)UNHCR is now including 20,000 new IDPs in Serbia (mostly Serb and Albanian Kosovars) reported by FRY government authorities.
(**) UNHCR has adjusted its refugee numbers for Bosnia downward.