This report includes: A) Afghanistan
B) WFP Regional Contingency Planning for Kosovo C) Iraq D)
East and Central Africa: Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Republic of Congo
and Democratic Republic of Congo.
From Manuel Aranda da Silva, Chief,
Technical Support Service. Available on the Internet on the WFP Home Page
at http://www.wfp.org/
or by electronic mail from Deborah.Hicks@wfp.org (fax 39 6 6513 2837).
For information on resources, donors are requested to contact Aleesa.Blum@wfp.org
or Claudia.VonRoehl@wfp.org at WFP Rome, telephone 39 6 6513 2004 or 6513
2504. The address of WFP is Via Cesare Giulio Viola 68, Parco dei Medici,
Rome 00148.
PART I - HIGHLIGHTS
(Details below in Part II)
B. YUGOSLAVIA: KOSOVO
1. WFP Regional Contingency Planning for Kosovo
a) Groups of refugees from Kosovo move into northern Albania, fleeing Serb attacks. UNHCR reports 6,500 registered refugees in Bajram Curry (information as of 4 June). Large numbers also reported displaced within Kosovo.
b) Displaced people from Kosovo in Montenegro are supported by host families.
c) WFP regional contingency plan for Kosovo in place since March. Stocks of relief food are available in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina; 42 tons of high-energy biscuits to be transported from regional stocks in Pisa into Albania, for the refugees.
d) Logistics and needs assessment missions recently conducted in the region; further assessment missions are Albania, 4-9 June, and joint WFP/UNHCR needs assessment in Kosovo, 8-12 June.
PART II - DETAILS
B. YUGOSLAVIA: KOSOVO
1. WFP REGIONAL CONTINGENCY PLANNING FOR KOSOVO, as of 4 June 1998
1.1 The UN has been closely following the situation resulting from the outflow of Kosovars into northern Albania; refugees are fleeing Serb attacks which have left many villages razed to the ground. Confirmed data from UNHCR reports 6,500 registered refugees in Bajram Curry (information as of 4 June). In addition, figures of between 37,000 and 47,000 are given of internally displaced within Kosovo. However, these figures may not be accurate and are believed to be inflated due to the current system of registering new internally displaced person arrivals in host families in Kosovo. As of 21 May, 2,992 displaced persons had registered with the Montenegrin Red Cross.
1.2 WFP has had a regional contingency plan for Kosovo in place since March. Stocks of WFP relief food in the region, available if needed in response to the Kosovo crisis, include 1,116 tons of wheat flour currently stored in Ploce port (Croatia) and a further 150 tons of pulses, 94 tons of vegetable oil and 62 tons of high-energy biscuits (BP5s) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the next ten days, the high-energy biscuits will be transported to the region. An additional 42 tons of high-energy biscuits will be transported from regional stocks in Pisa, Italy, into Albania, for the new refugee caseload.
1.3 Two logistics missions have been conducted in the region and one needs assessment mission to evaluate the situation of displaced persons in Montenegro. The latter mission revealed that the food aid is not yet necessary, but monitoring of the situation is ongoing, since it is not clear how long host families can bear the additional burden of supporting displaced persons from Kosovo.
1.4 Two further assessment missions are planned. One is to assess the situation in Albania, from 4 to 9 June, and the other is a joint WFP/UNHCR needs assessment in Kosovo, from 8 to 12 June. An international staff member has been appointed for the Kosovo based in Belgrade, to oversee further contingency planning.
(End WFP Emergency Report No. 23 of 1998 - June 5, 1998)