UN refugee agency to resume aid operations in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today announced plans to restart its operations in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge, where security concerns over bombings forced a suspension of relief efforts two weeks ago.

"As the situation has remained calmer with no further bombing reported in the past week, UNHCR is resuming food distribution for the more than 3,800 refugees from Chechnya living in the Gorge," agency spokesman Kris Janowski explained.

Most of the refugees in Pankisi fled the conflict in Chechnya in 1999. Nearly 80 per cent of the Chechen refugees in Georgia are women, children and the elderly.