22 August 1996 REF/1150
UNHCR TO AIRLIFT SUPPLIES AS MORE CHECHENS FLEE GROZNY 19960822GENEVA, 22 August (UNHCR) -- A cargo plane chartered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will leave Ostend airport in Belgium at midnight tonight carrying emergency relief supplies for an influx of more than 23,000 Chechens into the neighbouring Russian republics of Ingushetia and Dagestan.The plane is scheduled to arrive at Vladikavkaz airport Friday morning at 5:00 GMT. It will airlift blankets, plastic sheeting for shelter, jerry- cans and kitchen sets containing basic cooking utensils. The supplies will be distributed in Ingushetia and Dagestan to Chechen families arriving from Grozny and the surrounding area. In addition, two 20 metric-tonne trucks left Amsterdam on Thursday carrying more essential emergency supplies to replenish existing UNHCR stocks. Their travel time to the northern Caucasus is estimated at 10 days. A third truck will leave Amsterdam on Friday. As the crisis deepens in Chechnya, Russian Federation, the UNHCR has also taken urgent steps to increase staffing to a total 37 staff in Inushetia and Dagestan. A specialist UNHCR emergency team is standing by for deployment in case of need. The UNHCR field teams report that the outflow of Chechens to neighbouring republics in the last two weeks now numbers over 23,000 people. More than 5,000 have arrived in the past 24 hours, and they report that others are on their way. About 20,000 people have now arrived in Ingushetia and an estimated 3,000-8,000 have arrived in Dagestan, bringing the total population of displaced Chechens in these two neighboring republics to over 100,000. The UNHCR has been active in the republics around Chechnya, Russian Federation since January 1995, assisting displaced people who have fled the often intense fighting there. The agency does not, however, work inside the republic of Chechnya, Russian Federation itself. Most of the newly displaced Chechen families found shelter with friends and relatives, but others are in collective centres. In Ingushetia, tents are being erected at a camp at Aki-Yurt, which houses over 700 people. Others are living in tents around Sernovodsk. - 2 - Press Release REF/1150 22 August 1996 In addition to basic equipment from contingency stocks in Ingushetia, the UNHCR is also distributing food parcels which have recently been donated by the Government of Saudi Arabia. These family food parcels, some 300 metric tons of food, sufficient to cover the needs of at least 20,000 people for one month include flour, sugar, tea, oil, rice, and milk powder. Aid is distributed both in tent camps and to displaced people living with families. Field staff say that displaced families arriving in Ingushetia and Dagestan are exhausted and obviously suffering from the trauma of recent fighting. Many report looting of their possessions by soldiers en route The 1996 budget for UNHCR operations in the republics around Chechnya totals $6.5 million. Only $3.1 million has been donated to date. Agency officials fear that the budget estimates may now have to be revised upwards, as fighting deepens and more families seek refuge in neighboring areas. * *** *
United Nations
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