Red Cross granted access to South Ossetia

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.

Bringing refugees back together again is expected to be one of the most important Red Cross objectives in the crisis region, with many families having been separated while fleeing the fighting. In addition, there is an urgent need for medications and other aid goods, particularly in the refugee centres in western Georgia, the capital Tbilisi and in Gori.

The ICRC president, Jakob Kellenberger, who has just returned from a three-day visit to Georgia and the Russian Federation, said “Obtaining access for the ICRC to South Ossetia was one of the main objectives of my visit. We have indications that there are important needs in the region that still have to be addressed.” The ICRC president added that the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, had told him in Moscow on Tuesday that Russia supported the idea of the ICRC carrying out humanitarian work in South Ossetia.

Mr Kellenberger said that the organization had received a number of reports about people in South Ossetia in need of humanitarian assistance and protection. “Apart from assessing the needs of displaced people and the state of medical care, our priorities will be to restore contact between family members who have been separated by the conflict and to obtain information about people who remain unaccounted for,” he said. “Finally, we want to visit all those captured or detained in connection with the conflict to assess their treatment and living conditions.” He added that the ICRC would be coordinating its activities closely with the authorities on all sides.

On Sunday, the ICRC president visited Georgia, where the organization has been assisting thousands of people forced to flee their homes and supporting medical facilities across the country. Over the past week, it has brought more that 430 tonnes of food and other relief items into Georgia as it builds up its capacity to assist up to 25,000 displaced people.

“In Tbilisi, I visited a centre housing the displaced,” said Mr Kellenberger. “The families there are going through very hard times. The ICRC has already distributed food and other relief goods toabout 7,000people forced to flee their homes, in particular in Tbilisi, Gori and western Georgia. From the very start of the crisis, we were able to bring additional staff and supplies into the region, enabling us to react quickly and efficiently to people’s needs.”

On Monday, Mr Kellenberger also visited a centre near the city of Vladikavkaz in North Ossetia that houses people who fled fighting in South Ossetia.

Find out more: www.icrc.org