World
(2008-08-20)
A Russian military vehicles drive on a road
A convoy of food aid for beleaguered Georgians has made it through a Russian checkpoint.
The nine flatbed trucks carried aid past an area about 30 miles west of the capital, Tbilisi.
The Russian seizure of Gori and other villages has left thousands of people with scarce and uncertain food supplies. The convoy of aid from the U.N.'s World Food Program could last for only a few days.
The international Red Cross also reports it's moving the first relief workers into South Ossetia since fighting broke out nearly two weeks ago. A Red Cross official says one of their first jobs will be assessing needs of local residents who've been cut off during the conflict.
The toll on civilians from the conflict remains unclear. The Red Cross estimates that about 80,000 people have fled their homes. Meanwhile, South Ossetian officials today said 1,492 civilians in the breakaway province had been killed.
© Copyright 2012, Associated Press
