Georgia-Russia conflict displaced 192,000 people: U.N.H.C.R.

New York, Sept 12 (PTI) Around 192,000 people were forced
to flee their homes in Georgia during the four-day war with
Russia last month, the latest report by the U.N.H.C.R.
estimates.

Previously, the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (U.N.H.C.R.) put their number at 158,000.

Of the total 192,000 people uprooted, 127,000 were
displaced in Georgia proper, 30,000 in South Ossetia and
another 35,000 fled to North Ossetia (Russia), according to
the new estimate.

"Of the 127,000 internally displaced persons (I.D.P.s) in
Georgia, 68,000 have since returned home," the agency's
spokesperson, Ron Redmond, told reporters Friday.

"The U.N.H.C.R. and the Georgian government estimate that
another 5,000 will go home before the onset of winter,
bringing up the number of returnees to 73,000," he added.

Of the remaining 54,000 I.D.P.s, the U.N.H.C.R. estimates
that 23,000 will need shelter through the winter before they
can return home and their houses will be rebuilt next year.

"However, the 31,000 are not expected to return in the
foreseeable future," Redmond said.

With 223,000 I.D.P.s from previous conflicts that Georgia
was already hosting, this new group brings to 254,000 the
total number of internally displaced in the country.

The U.N.H.C.R. also reported that it is stopping
spontaneous relocations of I.D.P.s from Tbilisi to the camp in
Gori, which is already overcrowded with some 2,200 people.

The agency wants to reserve remaining tents for those
I.D.P.s who have no one to support them, Redmond said.