UN aid agencies meet Ossetia’s war victims

A United Nations mission has been to South Ossetia to get first-hand knowledge of the humanitarian situation in the region. On the second day of the visit, the team toured war-hit South Ossetian villages before crossing

The UN delegation said it's neither ready nor willing to draw conclusions yet, because there are seven agencies within the group, including the World Health Organisation, the World Food Programme and UNICEF. They will collate their observations before delivering a report to the UN.

However, the agencies said they are willing to help people to start rebuilding their lives, Stephen O'Toole from the UN humanitarian mission said.

“I can share with you just a general impression – clearly from what we were able to see and people we were able to meet, many people in South Ossetia were heavily affected by the recent conflict. Many people here were telling us their concerns about the effect on children,” he said.

The UN mission also crossed the border to look at the situation in some Georgian villages which were also damaged.