Tbilisi/Geneva - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres arrived in South Ossetia on Friday on a visit to ascertain the humanitarian situation in the area, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.

The visit to South Ossetia concludes Guterres' four day visit to the region, which included meetings with government officials in the Georgian capital Tbilisi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.

Around 30,000 refugees are thought to have entered North Ossetia following the commencement of hostilities on August 8, although many have now willingly returned to South Ossetia. A further 128,000 have been displaced within Georgia, UNHCR said in a statement. (dpa)