As a result of Georgia's military offensive last Friday, South Ossetia's capital, Tskhinvali, was largely destroyed. According to Russian figures, around 1,600 civilians were killed and over 34,000 fled the region, mostly to the neighboring Russian republic of North Ossetia.
"I hope that soon you'll see broader support [for refuges] from the international community, which will render all necessary assistance," said Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, secretary general of the Organization for Security and Cooperation Europe (OSCE).
During the subsequent Russian military operation to force Georgian troops out of the de facto independent republic and to reinforce its peacekeepers in the region, Moscow sent some 10,000 servicemen and several hundred armored vehicles into South Ossetia.
