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12Aug08
Russia sends another humanitarian aid convoy to South Ossetia
Russia has sent another humanitarian aid convoy to South Ossetia, devastated after major ground and air attacks launched by Georgia to seize control of the rebel republic, Russia's Emergencies Ministry said Tuesday.
Georgia's offensive on South Ossetia started on Friday, prompting Russia to send in tanks and hundreds of troops. Around 2,000 civilians have since died in Tskhinvali, according to Russia. A total of 34,000 people are also reported to have fled across the Russian border.
The convoy containing 150 metric tons of aid, including foodstuffs, mobile electric power generators and water purification systems, has left the North Ossetian town of Alagir on the border with South Ossetia, the ministry said.
On Monday, a convoy of 80 vehicles delivered medical supplies, food, generators and other essentials to the capital of the Georgian breakaway republic. A second mobile hospital supplied by Russia's emergencies ministry has started treating the injured in Tskhinvali.
Russian Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived on Tuesday morning in Tskhinvali to coordinate the distribution of aid and to prevent a humanitarian crisis from occurring after most of the region's infrastructure was destroyed during Georgian shelling of South Ossetia.
[Source: Novosti, Vladikavkaz, 12Aug08]
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