Georgia: Pankisi Gorge aid to resume

UNHCR plans to resume its aid distributions in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge today. The activities were suspended two weeks ago following reports of bombings near the border which heightened security concerns in the area. As the situation has remained calmer with no further bombing reported in the past week, UNHCR is resuming food distribution for the more than 3,800 refugees from Chechnya living in the gorge. New refugee cards will also be distributed starting today, following the Georgian government's re-registration of the refugee population which took place earlier this year. Most of the refugees in Pankisi live with local host families and fled the conflict in Chechnya in 1999. Nearly 80% of the Chechen refugees in Georgia are women, children and the elderly.