Tskhinval/Agency Caucasus – As many as 33 000 Ossetian refugees return home for a new life days after they left South Ossetia as a country that came under heavy bombardment on August 7 and 8 from Georgia.
Since August 16, Ossetian refugees were moved in busses from Vladikavkaz, capital of North Ossetia, to Tskhinval, capital of South Ossetia, said Aleksandr Chupriyan, Deputy Russian Minister of Emergency Situations. One thousand Ossetian refugees cross the border daily, according to the Kavkazky Uzel, although it remains impossible to say how many Ossetian refugees as a whole have returned home so far. Almost half the 33 000 Ossetian refugees have managed to return home, the North Ossetian Ministry of Emergency Situations estimates. The bus terminal in Tskhinval, which suffered bombardment, will soon be restored, officials said.
“The refugees try to return home because they do not want to stay hereabouts,” said a female refugee. “The refugees are offered to go to Krasnodar and Maikop, though nobody wants to live there. And those who have gone there previously try to return as soon as possible.”
Sergei Shoyga, Russian Minister of Emergency Situations, have warned the refugees against mines as they return to the city: “There are lots of mines. It looks like it will take weeks, maybe months, to clean the area fully.”
Over 2 000 professional workers have come from the Russian Federation to contribute to works of reconstruction in Tskhinval, officials said.
ÖZ/FT
