DATE=2/25/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-N-H-C-R / CHECHNYA (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-259557
BYLINE=LISA SCHLEIN
DATELINE=GENEVA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The U-N's refugee agency, U-N-H-C-R, says
it hopes to send its first convoy of humanitarian
relief supplies to Chechnya early next week.
Lisa Schlein in Geneva reports the agency says
the delivery of aid will depend on guarantees of
security.
TEXT: The United Nations' refugee agency calls
the relief convoy a pilot project. It says it
hopes to send a convoy of 10 trucks to the
Chechen capital, Grozny, early next week to
provide aid to the civilian population.
It is estimated that thousands of civilians who
were trapped in Grozny throughout the Russian
bombardment are in desperate need of food and
other relief supplies.
U-N-H-C-R spokesman Ron Redmond says the agency
wants to make sure that security is in place and
that an effective distribution and monitoring
system can be established before the trucks start
moving. He says the agency plans to use Russian
security escorts, which have been accompanying
aid deliveries to refugees in the neighboring
Republic of Ingushetia.
/// REDMOND ACT ///
We don't have any long-term plans for
specific places we would be going to. I
think the first pilot project is just
looking at going into Grozny, examining how
we can best make sure that this assistance
gets to the civilian population that needs
it. And ensuring that it can be
monitored.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Redmond says the first aid convoy is likely
to include bedding, blankets, food and medical
supplies. Beyond that, he says, the agency does
not know what the needs are elsewhere in
Chechnya. He says it also is not clear whether
it will be feasible to deliver aid to other
areas.
Since war broke out in Chechnya several months
ago, the U-N Refugee Agency has delivered more
than five-thousand tons of humanitarian aid to
tens of thousands of Chechen refugees in
Ingushetia. Civilians caught in Chechnya have
received no international assistance. Foreign
aid agencies withdrew their staffs from Chechnya
for fear of them being killed or taken hostage.
(Signed)
NEB/LS/GE/KL/Eurasia/Europe
25-Feb-2000 10:04 AM EDT (25-Feb-2000 1504 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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