Brussels- The security situation in Georgia is improving by the day, but international aid workers still have no access to the breakaway province of South Ossetia, European Union officials said Wednesday.
Latest EU estimates put the number of refugees and people internally displaced by the conflict with Russia at 124,000. They are currently being hosted in 672 Georgian refugee centres.
Geneva - The international Red Cross (ICRC) said Wednesday that after two days' waiting, its aid workers had now gained access to South Ossetia and were proceeding to the provincial capital Tskhinvali.
The ICRC also said that its president, Jakob Kellenberger, during a three-day trip to the crisis region, had been able to hold talks with both Georgian and Russian officials, during which he had pressed for Red Cross workers being given unhindered access.
Tbilisi - Russia's army on Wednesday continued its occupation of two enclaves in Georgia as Kremlin officials claimed they would accelerate what they said was an already in-progress withdrawal.
Russian troops were operating road checkpoints throughout Georgia's Gori region, allowing civilian traffic to pass after inspection but blocking official Georgian vehicles.
Russian naval infantry held Georgia's Black Sea port of Poti under firm control as well as the key road hub Senaki, 30 kilometres inland.
New York - The United Nations was on Tuesday seeking 58.6 million dollars from the international community to help an estimated 130,000 Georgians affected by the conflict that erupted between Russia and Georgia on August 7.
The amount sought would cover six months of humanitarian programmes to be carried out by UN relief agencies and non- governmental organizations.
Tbilisi/Geneva - Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees arrived in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Tuesday to begin a four-day mission to Georgia and the Russian Federation to assess the humanitarian situation in the region.
Brussels - NATO should take a strong line with Russia over its use of force in the conflict with Georgia, but that strong line should not imperil NATO-Russia dialogue, the alliance's foreign ministers said at an emergency meeting in Brussels on Tuesday.
"The first priority is to provide political and practical support to Georgia, the second is to ensure that Russia doesn't learn the wrong lessons from the events of the last two weeks ... Force cannot be the basis for the demarcation of new lines around Russia," British Foreign Minister David Miliband said ahead of the meeting.
Brussels- The security situation in Georgia is improving by the day, but international aid workers still have no access to the breakaway province of South Ossetia, European Union officials said Wednesday.
Geneva - The international Red Cross (ICRC) said Wednesday that after two days' waiting, its aid workers had now gained access to South Ossetia and were proceeding to the provincial capital Tskhinvali.
Tbilisi - Russia's army on Wednesday continued its occupation of two enclaves in Georgia as Kremlin officials claimed they would accelerate what they said was an already in-progress withdrawal.
New York - The United Nations was on Tuesday seeking 58.6 million dollars from the international community to help an estimated 130,000 Georgians affected by the conflict that erupted between Russia and Georgia on August 7.
Tbilisi/Geneva - Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees arrived in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Tuesday to begin a four-day mission to Georgia and the Russian Federation to assess the humanitarian situation in the region.
