U.N.: Russian Troops Blocking Georgians From Homes

Anastasia Khaikashvili, holding a portrait of her missing son Shmagi, cries at a funeral ceremony of unknown Georgian soldiers.

TBILISI, Georgia-Russian troops remaining in Georgian territory are effectively preventing Georgians from returning to their homes, a UN representative said Saturday.Melita Sunjic, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner of Refugees in Georgia, told The Associated Press that although it was not clear if Russian soldiers were actually preventing refugees from returning, the warnings block them from going home."If they say 'we can't guarantee your safety,' you don't go," she said.Some 2,000 refugees are at UNHCR camps in Gori, and thousands of others may in the region.They hope to return to villages in the so-called "security zones" Russia has claimed for itself on Georgian territory south of the border with the separatist republic of South Ossetia.U.S. Senator Bob Corker, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, visited Gori on Saturday to observe the distribution of US food aid.The United States has sent substantial aid to Georgia in the wake of the war, using naval ships and military aircraft. Russian officials raised speculation that the military involvement could indicate the United States was seeking to restore Georgia's armed forces, which had received massive military aid from Washington in recent years.Asked whether the United States was considering new military aid, Corker said "these subjects are part of a longer and midterm discussion" when Congress reconvenes in September.Fighting broke out Aug. 7 when Georgian forces began heavy shelling of the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, hoping to retake control of the province. Russian forces poured in, pushed the Georgians out in a matter of days and then drove deep into Georgia proper.Under an EU-brokered cease-fire, both sides were supposed to return their forces to prewar positions, but Russia has interpreted one of the agreement's clauses as allowing it to set up 7-kilometer (4-mile) deep security zones, which are now marked by Russian checkpoints.Refugees coming into Georgia from those zones say they are being terrorized, beaten and robbed by South Ossetians.Georgia has severed diplomatic ties with Moscow to protest the presence of Russian troops on its territory. It claims, as does the West, that Russia is violating the EU agreement. The Georgian government announced Friday that diplomatic staff would leave Georgia's Moscow embassy Saturday, though Georgian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Khatuna Iosana said they had not left as of 6:30 p.m. local time (14:30GMT).
"We found ourselves in an awkward situation when a country militarily invading and occupying our country, then recognizing part of its territories, is trying to create a sense of normalcy" by maintaining diplomatic relations, Georgian Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili said in Sweden earlier.

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