With NRC and Praxis’ withdrawal from Dimitrovgrad at the end of March 2016, activities from April focused solely on Belgrade. These included protection through presence, assistance and provision of information, and distribution of food and non-food items (NFIs). Teams were present in the field 24/7 at various locations, while one team was also assigned to provide information and assistance in Miksaliste during its working hours. Despite the formal closure of borders along the Balkan route, refugees/asylum seekers continued arriving to Serbia from both Bulgaria and Macedonia, resulting in an increase of arrivals in Belgrade of almost 100%, compared to March 2016. The vast majority travel to the Hungarian border where a small number of official crossings are permitted daily and many more cross illegally.

In April, NRC-Praxis assisted over 4,400 beneficiaries, bringing the total number of beneficiaries assisted since the project start to over 13,000. A major development in April was the unexpected eviction order of Miksaliste from its rental premises in Savamala, followed immediately by the demolition of the site which affected NRC-Praxis installations, such as the Save the Children-run Child Friendly Space (CFS) and the non-food item (NFI) distribution chute as well as daily activities which Praxis staff were carrying out in Miksaliste.

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