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Kosovo situation a humanitarian crisis, says UNICEF

The situation in Kosovo province has deteriorated significantly and can now only be described as a humanitarian disaster. The principal victims of the escalating violence are children and women. Some 70,000 people have fled their homes as villages have been looted and burned. It is estimated that the total number of displaced persons is now 200,000. Great numbers of people are struggling to survive in the woods around Malisevo, Klina and Drenica. Pregnant women are obliged to give birth in the woods without benefit of medical or other professional assistance. Where children are concerned, the situation is even more desperate. Vaccination programmes have been totally disrupted and serious malnutrition is becoming increasingly evident. Relief workers report a major outbreak of diarrhoea in the Suva Reka region. In an environment of chronic food shortage, both mothers and breastfeeding infants are under special stress.

Given the increasingly unrestrained burning and looting, many of the local population have been made homeless. In addition, frequent reports of mass graves only add to the general terror of the situation.

UNICEF urgently appeals to the international diplomatic community to take whatever measures may be necessary to achieve a lasting ceasefire in the shortest possible time. If a concerted and effective international initiative is not taken, world leaders risk seeing the situation in Kosovo escalate to grotesque levels of violence and brutality.

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