Date: Sat, 5 Aug 95 06:22:02 EDT
From: incident@vita.org (Emergency Information Administrator)
To: event@vita.org
Subject: Ex-Yugoslavia: Civil OFDA-05
U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE (BHR)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
FORMER YUGOSLAVIA - Civil Strife
Situation Report #5, Fiscal Year (FY) 1995 August 4, 1995
Note: The last situation report was dated July 13, 1995
Background
Fighting has intensified throughout Bosnia Herzegovina (B-H) in recent
months. The Bosnian Serb Army (BSA) stepped up its shelling of Sarajevo,
halting all humanitarian airlifts and curtailing most of the humanitarian
convoys trying to supply the city. The U.N. Protection Forces (UNPROFOR)
and the U.N. headquarters in Sarajevo also came under rocket attack by the
BSA. In mid-June, the Bosnian Government Army (known as the BiH Army)
launched an offensive against the BSA in an effort to break the
stranglehold on Sarajevo. In July, the BSA turned its attention to the
Muslim-populated eastern enclaves, completely surrounded by Bosnian-Serb
controlled territory. Two of the enclaves, Srebrenica and Zepa, which had
been designated as U.N. safe areas, were overrun by the BSA in July.
Elsewhere in B-H, the BSA, the Croatian Serb Army from the Krajina region
of Croatia, and militia loyal to renegade Muslim leader Fikret Abdic began
a coordinated attack on the Bosnian Government-defended Bihac pocket in
northwest B-H. This action has prompted the joint attack by the Croatian
Armed Forces and Bosnian-Croat militia against Serb-controlled territory
in western B-H to alleviate pressure on the Bihac pocket. This
intervention threatens to further escalate the conflict.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the lead U.N. agency
providing humanitarian assistance in the former Yugoslavia. Units of
UNPROFOR are responsible for escorting UNHCR relief convoys in B-H. The
U.N.'s World Food Program (WFP) coordinates food aid contributions for
beneficiaries throughout the region. The International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) carries out relief activities, as well as programs related
to detainees, missing persons, and family tracing activities. Many
international and local Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) operating
in the region also make a significant contribution to the coordinated
relief effort.
Numbers Affected
According to the U.N. Updated Consolidated Interagency Appeal for the
former Yugoslavia issued in late May 1995, the beneficiary population has
decreased from 2.27 million to 2.1 million. The planning figure for B-H
and Croatia remained at 1.4 million, while the target number for the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
(Serbia and Montenegro) decreased from 350,000 to nearly 200,000.
Total U.S. Government (USG) Assistance
FY 1991-1995 (to date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$932,969,546
Current Situation
The political, military, and humanitarian situation is changing rapidly
throughout the region. On August 4, the war entered a new phase as the
Croatian military attacked the Serb-controlled region of Krajina, shelling
several cities inside the secessionist region of Croatia. In July, the
eastern enclaves of Srebrenica and Zepa were captured and "ethnically
cleansed" by the Bosnian Serb Army. This action forced tens of thousands
of women, children, and the elderly from these two areas to seek refuge in
the Bosnian Government controlled towns of Tuzla and Zenica. Fortunately,
pre-positioned food and relief supplies were available for this influx of
newly displaced persons (DPs). UNHCR and several NGOs are providing food,
shelter, and medical care to these DPs and have already begun work on
providing more long-term shelter and assistance before the onset of winter.
In response to this new influx of DPs into central Bosnia, BHR/OFDA has
provided $7.5 million since July 11 to projects specifically addressing the
needs of the newly displaced population. On July 17, Director of the State
Department's Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration, Phyllis Oakley
visited Tuzla with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata,
and expressed the willingness of the USG to increase its humanitarian
assistance in response to this new population exodus. BHR/OFDA's Disaster
Assistance Response Team (DART) has been augmented with additional
personnel to assist in the assessment and coordination of USG humanitarian
assistance.
Although the international humanitarian community has pre-positioned
sufficient relief supplies to meet the immediate needs of the vulnerable
population in B-H, access to areas surrounded by Bosnian Serb controlled
territory remains unreliable. The UNHCR humanitarian airlift to Sarajevo
has been suspended since April 8. Humanitarian convoys to Sarajevo, Bihac,
and Gorazde have been reduced to a trickle. UNHCR reported that food
shortages in Sarajevo, Bihac, and Gorazde are the worst since the war began
due to the recent hostilities and continued Bosnian Serb refusals to allow
the convoys safe access through its territory.
Political/Military Situation
The fall of Srebrenica and Zepa prompted new ultimatums against the Bosnian
Serbs by the U.N. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). A
heavily armored British, French, and Dutch Rapid Reaction Force was
deployed to reinforce and protect UNPROFOR in fulfilling its mandate. On
July 21, the Western allies vowed that if the Serbs attacked the remaining
eastern enclave of Gorazde, NATO would respond with "substantial and
decisive" airstrikes against Bosnian Serb targets. On July 31, NATO stated
that it would also retaliate with airstrikes in response to attacks on the
other safe areas of Bihac, Sarajevo and Tuzla. The U.N. Secretary General
has delegated the authority for such an operation to the UNPROFOR senior
military commander. The new command-and-control procedure provides for a
more robust and streamlined response to Serb provocations.
The Bosnian Serbs appear, perhaps for the moment, to be unwilling to test
the NATO ultimatum on Gorazde, but have launched an assault on the pocket
of Bihac in far northwestern B-H. They have been joined by the Croatian
Serb army that controls the Krajina region of Croatia and militia loyal to
the rebel Muslim leader Fikret Abdic. The Bosnian Government 5th Army
Corps is defending the pocket against the concerted attack. Meanwhile, the
Croatian army and the Bosnian Croat militia have captured Serb-held
territory in southwestern B-H. This advance is designed to counter the Serb
attack on Bihac and may also serve to threaten Knin, the capital of
Croatian Serb territory in the Krajina.
This recent activity marks the most recent military intervention by the
Croatian military since May 1 when several thousand Croatian Army forces
recaptured Serb-held areas of Sector West in the Western Slavonia region
of Croatia. In retaliation to the attack, Croatian Serb forces launched
rockets on Zagreb on May 2 and May 3, killing at least 6 and wounding an
estimated 200 civilians in the Croatian capital.
Relief Efforts
The humanitarian crisis in B-H is characterized not by a lack of food or
supplies, but by a lack of access. Convoys delivering food and supplies
to destinations that must transit Serb-controlled territory are subject to
attack or denied safe passage by Bosnian Serb authorities. UNHCR continues
to supply towns in central B-H where convoys do not have to transit Bosnian
Serb controlled territory. Sufficient quantities of food and relief
supplies are stocked in UNHCR warehouses, waiting for successful delivery
to affected areas. To meet the needs of the new DPs arriving from
Srebrenica and Zepa, convoys and cargo flights brought supplies from U.N.
warehouses in Split and Metkovic, Croatia to Tuzla and Zenica, B-H.
UNHCR has recently revised its monthly distribution targets to consist of
approximately 16,000 MT of food and 178 MT of non-food relief commodities
(primarily blankets, plastic sheeting, water containers, hygiene items, and
medical supplies) delivered by humanitarian convoys. Despite increased
access to central Bosnia, only a minimal number of convoys have reached
other areas, such as Bihac, Gorazde, and Sarajevo. Due to the increasingly
precarious security situation, UNHCR has dramatically reduced its staff in
its offices in several areas of B-H.
Situation by Region
Eastern Enclaves: With the fall and ethnic cleansing of Srebrenica and
Zepa, almost the entire beneficiary population has been moved to displaced
settlement areas in Tuzla and Zenica. BiH soldiers and young males
detained by the invading BSA forces are being held in detention camps in
nearby Serb-controlled towns. As of August 1, the ICRC has not been
permitted access to detention camps holding the prisoners of war.
Residents fleeing Srebrenica, UNPROFOR soldiers, and other observers have
reported witnessing atrocities and executions of Bosnian Muslims by the
Bosnian Serb Army.
During the last week of July, two UNHCR convoys carrying approximately 240
tons of food arrived in Gorazde. These were the first convoys to arrive
in more than a month. The 65,000 Muslim residents of Gorazde are suffering
from acute shortages of food, medicine, and other supplies. Only a limited
number of residents in the town have rationed access to running water or
electricity.
Central Bosnia: Conditions in central B-H are better than other parts of
the country due to regular access of humanitarian deliveries to vulnerable
populations. The city of Tuzla's population has swelled to over 250,000,
not counting the recently arrived DPs that fled from Srebrenica.
Approximately 20,000 of these DPs are housed in collective centers and
about 3,000 have moved in with friends and relatives in private homes, but
as many as 6,000 women, children and the elderly have been forced to live
in makeshift shelters at the Tuzla airport. UNHCR and NGOs are providing
food, shelter, and sanitation facilities to these DPs. Plans are underway
to relocate most of the DPs living at the airport to more secure and
accessible areas. The U.N. has established a helicopter airbridge to ferry
food and relief supplies from
Split, Croatia to Tuzla.
Expelled and wounded residents of Zepa were taken by bus to Sarajevo or to
the central Bosnian town of Kladanj for onward movement to reception
centers in Zenica. UNHCR is identifying housing and shelters in Zenica for
evacuees from Zepa and Srebrenica. Additional food and relief supplies are
also being delivered to Zenica for the new DPs. The estimated 611,000
beneficiaries living in Zenica are still dependent on international food
assistance.
Sarajevo: Only 13 percent of food needs were met in Sarajevo in June.
Cases of anemia, the result of an iron-deficient diet, have been reported
on the increase. For the first time in over a month, UNHCR convoys arrived
in Sarajevo on July 21-22, delivering 1,458 MT of food aid to the
population. The BSA is insisting that a portion of the food commodities
destined for Sarajevo be diverted to Serb-controlled areas. On July 22,
a U.N. convoy escorted by UNPROFOR was shelled by BSA forces outside of
Sarajevo and two UNPROFOR French Battalion soldiers were killed.
The Sarajevo airlift of humanitarian relief supplies has not resumed since
April 8 when a U.S. cargo aircraft was hit several times by small arms
fire. Since then, the Bosnian Serbs have refused to guarantee the safety
of the aircraft, thereby denying Sarajevo the primary means of delivering
aid to the besieged city. According to UNHCR, the recent military activity
on the ground makes the resumption of the airlift in the near future very
unlikely.
To further strangle the city, the Bosnian Serbs cut off the supplies of
natural gas, electricity, and water at the end of May. In the city center,
"unprotected" shops and markets have been closed since early June when the
city government ordered them shut due to security reasons. The 10 megawatt
electric transmission cable, funded by the Soros Foundation and BHR/OFDA,
has served as the primary source of electricity for the city. The cable
runs over Mt. Igman through the tunnel under the airport and into Sarajevo,
providing power on a priority basis to operate the water pumping stations,
hospitals, and government facilities. In addition, the city government is
also providing electricity to domestic users nightly on a rotating basis.
Bihac: Less than 15 percent of food assistance needs have been met in
Bihac over the past year, leaving the vulnerable populations in the enclave
at risk of starvation. Virtually no food aid stocks remain in warehouses
and the estimated 180,000 people living in the pocket are the most at-risk
population in B-H. Both ICRC and UNHCR have had difficulty in gaining
access to the Bihac pocket and the last UNHCR convoy arrived on July 12 and
its small quantity of food was distributed immediately. No humanitarian
supplies have been delivered since the recent intensification of fighting
around the Bihac pocket.
U.S. Government (USG) Assistance
So far in FY 1995, the USG has provided over $152 million for humanitarian
programs in the former Yugoslavia through USAID, Department of State, and
Department of Defense programs.
USAID/BHR/OFDA Assistance
During FY 1995 to date, USAID/BHR/OFDA has provided over $32 million to
implement 40 humanitarian relief programs implemented by 18 NGOs in the
Former Yugoslavia. BHR/OFDA continues to address the needs of vulnerable
groups throughout the region through the funding of NGO projects in
emergency feeding programs, health care, winterization programs, water and
sanitation, and seeds and tools distribution.
BHR/OFDA obligated funding includes the following:
* International Rescue Committee umbrella grant for relief programs in
B-H.
* Action Internationale Contre La Faim (AICF)/USA spring seeds
distribution in B-H, provision of hot meals for vulnerable persons in
Mostar and Zenica, emergency supplemental food distribution in Bihac,
and assistance to collective centers in Sarajevo.
* American Red Cross food distribution activities in B-H.
* Brother's Brother feeding programs for displaced persons in Osijek.
* Catholic Relief Services production and distribution of underwear in
B-H, hospital sanitation in Kosovo, and solid waste collection, spring
seeds distribution, and senior citizen assistance activities in
Sarajevo.
* Equilibre transport of relief assistance in B-H.
* Feed the Children/UK food distribution in B-H.
* International Medical Corps immunization services in central B-H.
* Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)/Belgium health and winterization
activities in the eastern enclaves.
* Mercy Corps International medical, agricultural, and winterization
programs in Kosovo.
* The Open Society Institute emergency electricity services in Sarajevo.
* Premiere Urgence for food distribution to the elderly in Mostar.
* St. David's Relief livestock support activities in central B-H.
* World Health Organization nutritional study in Sarajevo, Tuzla, and
Zenica.
* Solidarities continued rehabilitation activities and food and hygiene
parcel distribution program.
In addition to its obligated funding, BHR/OFDA is currently in the process
of providing $7.5 million to NGOs to support additional emergency relief
activities.
BHR/OFDA dispatched the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to Zagreb
in December 1992. The DART also operates sub-offices in Split, Croatia and
Sarajevo, B-H. Among its responsibilities, the DART manages BHR/OFDA's
humanitarian assistance programs and monitors the distribution activities
of UNHCR, NGOs, and international donors. In January 1994, BHR/OFDA's DART
in Zagreb established a Rapid Response Fund (RRF) to enable it to respond
as quickly as possible to the changing humanitarian needs in the former
Yugoslavia. Thus far in FY 95, the DART's RRF has made available $900,000
to fund small-scale, emergency relief activities carried out by
international and local NGOs.
The DART also provides assistance in calling forward emergency relief
supplies from BHR/OFDA's permanent stockpile in Leghorn, Italy. To date
in FY 1995, $790,350 worth of emergency stockpile items have been delivered
to the region.
DART Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,598,730
Grants to NGOs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $32,288,054
DART RRF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$900,000
Transport and Stockpiling
of relief supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,442,350
Total BHR/OFDA FY 1995 (to date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $37,229,134
USAID/BHR/FFP Assistance
In FY 1995 to date, the Office of Food For Peace (BHR/FFP) has provided
126,400 MT of lentils, cornmeal, beans, rice, peas, vegetable oil, wheat,
and wheat flour valued at approximately $58 million to programs in the
former Yugoslavia. This assistance has been provided to WFP, Catholic
Relief Services, and the American Red Cross.
Since June 1995 BHR/FFP has scheduled the incremental delivery of a total
of approximately 70,000 MT of wheat flour through October 1995. These
allocations meet 60 percent of the flour requirements for B-H for the last
six months of the year.
Total BHR/FFP FY 1995 (to date). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $57,964,200
ENI Assistance
USAID's Bureau for Europe and the Newly Independent States (USAID/ENI) has
granted $4 million in cooperative agreements with NGOs for municipal
rehabilitation activities in the Bosnia and Herzegovina Federation,
$500,000 for a Sarajevo municipal services rehabilitation program, and
another $1 million for project administration thus far in FY 1995.
Total USAID/ENI FY 95. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,500,000
State/PRM Assistance
In FY 1995 to date, the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Population,
Refugees and Migration (PRM) has contributed over $49 million to
humanitarian assistance organizations operating in the former Yugoslavia.
Of this amount, UNHCR has received $28 million and ICRC $12 million. The
remaining $9 million was allocated to other international organizations and
NGOs.
Total State/PRM FY 1995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $49,451,111
DOD/HRA Assistance
Thus far in FY 1995, the Department of Defense's (DOD) Office of
Humanitarian and Refugee Affairs (HRA) has provided $2,750,000 for the
transportation and provision of emergency relief supplies (mainly wool
blankets and Humanitarian Daily Rations) to the former Yugoslavia.
Total DOD/HRA FY 1995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,750,000
Total BHR/OFDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $37,229,134
Total BHR/FFP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $57,964,200
Total USAID/ENI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,500,000
Total State/PRM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $49,453,111
Total DOD/HRA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,750,000
Total USG FY 1995 (to date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$152,896,445
Total USG Assistance from FY 1991 - to date
FY 1991. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,000,000
FY 1992. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $47,362,239
FY 1993. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$343,841,260
FY 1994. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$387,869,602
FY 1995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$152,896,445
Total FY 1991-1995 (to date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$932,969,546
_________________________
Nan Borton
Director
Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance
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