Agency Caucasus – The International Committee of the Red Cross, or ICRC, called Friday with urgency upon the sides in conflict with each other over South Ossetia to let aid agencies reach out to the civilians and evacuate those wounded as the violence soars.
A staff member of the United Nations (UN) refugee agency in South Ossetia reported early on Friday that most of the buildings and houses had been destroyed in the clashes, ICRC spokesman Ron Redmond told Reuters. "Water is also in short supply — a chronic problem being worsened by recent events — and most transport has stopped and shops are running out of food," he was quoted as saying.
The humanitarian aid organization, based in Switzerland, expressed deep concern over the escalating violence and pressed all sides to make a clear distinction between civilians and those taking direct part in the conflicts.
Civilians, fighters who surrender, the wounded and the sick must be treated kindly, it warned, because attacks that are random or directly targeted at the civilian population are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law enshrined in the Geneva Conventions, it concluded emphatically.
