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GEORGIA: UN CALLS FOR PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS AND ACCESS TO VICTIMS OF CONFLICT
Panorama.am
16:24 13/08/2008
12 August 2008 - A senior United Nations humanitarian official has
urged the parties to the conflict in Georgia, where fierce fighting
in recent days has uprooted nearly 100,000 people, to do their utmost
to protect civilians and ensure access for aid agencies.
Heavy fighting that erupted last Thursday between Georgian and South
Ossetian forces have led to a large number of casualties and caused
large numbers of civilians to flee to other parts of the country
as well as to North Ossetia in Russia. Russian forces have become
involved in South Ossetia, and in the separate region of Abkhazia in
north-western Georgia, in recent days.
Meanwhile, the first UN humanitarian airlift - chartered by the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) - arrived earlier today in Georgia,
bringing 34 tons of tents, jerry cans, blankets and kitchen sets for
those in need. A second UNHCR flight is scheduled for tomorrow.
"The two flights will provide more than 70 tons of aid supplies
for up to 30,000 people and will augment other relief items already
distributed by UNHCR from its warehouses in Georgia," the agency's
spokesperson, Ron Redmond, told reporters in Geneva.
According to the latest figures provided by Georgia and Russia,
the total number of people uprooted in the conflict is approaching
100,000, UNHCR said. Officials in North Ossetia, Russia, say some
30,000 people from South Ossetia have arrived in that region.
The UN's Resident Coordinator in Russia said that UN agencies there are
in touch with the Government, as well as local authorities in North
Ossetia. The agencies present in the area confirmed that the Russian
authorities are providing adequate assistance to those in distress.
Georgian officials say a few thousand have fled into other parts of
Georgia from South Ossetia, but a registration must be carried out
to get an exact figure. Up to 12,000 are estimated by officials to
be displaced within South Ossetia.
There are also movements elsewhere in Georgia, including from the
town of Gori - just south of the boundary with South Ossetia. A UNHCR
team which travelled to Gori on Sunday was told by local Government
officials that up to 80 per cent of the population had left, fearing
further attacks - that would amount to some 56,000 people from Gori
on the move.
The representatives of the Red Cross also visited several hospitals
were now the wounded are placed in Georgia and North Ossetia.
They also urged the officials to set free the people arrested during
the conflict for various reasons.
Panorama.am
16:24 13/08/2008
12 August 2008 - A senior United Nations humanitarian official has
urged the parties to the conflict in Georgia, where fierce fighting
in recent days has uprooted nearly 100,000 people, to do their utmost
to protect civilians and ensure access for aid agencies.
Heavy fighting that erupted last Thursday between Georgian and South
Ossetian forces have led to a large number of casualties and caused
large numbers of civilians to flee to other parts of the country
as well as to North Ossetia in Russia. Russian forces have become
involved in South Ossetia, and in the separate region of Abkhazia in
north-western Georgia, in recent days.
Meanwhile, the first UN humanitarian airlift - chartered by the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) - arrived earlier today in Georgia,
bringing 34 tons of tents, jerry cans, blankets and kitchen sets for
those in need. A second UNHCR flight is scheduled for tomorrow.
"The two flights will provide more than 70 tons of aid supplies
for up to 30,000 people and will augment other relief items already
distributed by UNHCR from its warehouses in Georgia," the agency's
spokesperson, Ron Redmond, told reporters in Geneva.
According to the latest figures provided by Georgia and Russia,
the total number of people uprooted in the conflict is approaching
100,000, UNHCR said. Officials in North Ossetia, Russia, say some
30,000 people from South Ossetia have arrived in that region.
The UN's Resident Coordinator in Russia said that UN agencies there are
in touch with the Government, as well as local authorities in North
Ossetia. The agencies present in the area confirmed that the Russian
authorities are providing adequate assistance to those in distress.
Georgian officials say a few thousand have fled into other parts of
Georgia from South Ossetia, but a registration must be carried out
to get an exact figure. Up to 12,000 are estimated by officials to
be displaced within South Ossetia.
There are also movements elsewhere in Georgia, including from the
town of Gori - just south of the boundary with South Ossetia. A UNHCR
team which travelled to Gori on Sunday was told by local Government
officials that up to 80 per cent of the population had left, fearing
further attacks - that would amount to some 56,000 people from Gori
on the move.
The representatives of the Red Cross also visited several hospitals
were now the wounded are placed in Georgia and North Ossetia.
They also urged the officials to set free the people arrested during
the conflict for various reasons.