Georgian relief operation hampered as aid workers ambushed

BRUSSELS - A truce between Russia and Georgia has failed to open up the conflict zone to much-needed emergency supplies, aid agencies and EU officials said on Thursday, as UN staff were held up by armed gunmen.

The United Nations workers were ambushed in the Georgian city of Gori before having their vehicles stolen, an official said, adding that the area was not yet considered safe enough for aid workers to operate in.

Robert Watkins, UN resident coordinator for Georgia, told AFP two UN-marked cars were taken by "paramilitary" gunmen after security officials doing a safety assessment there were stopped at gunpoint.

Latest estimates by the Georgian and Russian governments put the number of displaced people in the region at nearly 115,000.

"The authorities in principle are ready to give us access but we are being told that there are ongoing security concerns," said Geneva-based spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross Anna Nelson.

"We are ready to go in. We do not expect access today as it is already nightfall there. But we are ready to go in from the north and the south," she added.

The European Commission said it was concerned at the inability of aid workers to get help to tens of thousands of hungry and needy people.

Commission spokesman John Clancy told reporters in Brussels the truce had had little impact on the level access.

"The cessation of hostilities announced by Moscow has not yet reflected particularly into any improvement in terms of access for humanitarian aid workers," Clancy said, adding that emergency medical aid was "urgently needed."

"We hope that the situation changes in the coming hours," he said.

A UN human rights expert said he too was alarmed at the lack of humanitarian access to the wounded and displaced in the week-old dispute over the Russian-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia.

Many people caught up in the conflict were "still exposed to continuing dangers, facing difficulties in accessing shelter, medical care and food," said Walter Kaelin, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's representative for the rights of internally displaced persons.

He said he was "also alarmed about reports that humanitarian access is still blocked and by allegations of widespread looting of property left behind by the displaced."

Aid was required particularly in the camps hastily set up for displaced people within Georgia, mostly in and around the capital Tbilisi, Clancy added.

As well as access to hotspots for humanitarian workers, another problem was getting the aid to the area, with ports being particularly hazardous.

Marie Anne Isjer-beguin, chair of the European parliament's Georgia delegation, appealed in Tbilisi jointly for the creation of a humanitarian corridor.

Georgian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Giorgi Gorgiladze, speaking in Geneva at a disarmament conference, blamed Russian armed forces for not granting aid workers access to territory they controlled.

Meanwhile, UNHCR flew its second humanitarian flight to the Georgian capital carrying tents, jerry cans, blankets and telecommunications equipment.

Turkey also stepped up humanitarian assistance sending a further 10 trucks of relief supplies.

The United States State Department said a second C-17 US military cargo plane carrying humanitarian aid had arrived in Tbilisi on Thursday.

Italy was due to send two planeloads of relief materials "as rapidly as possible, probably during the weekend".