Secretary general alarmed by humanitarian conditions

UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said yesterday he was alarmed by the humanitarian situation and lawlessness in war-torn parts of Georgia, but Russia suggested the world body was spreading disinformation.

"Large parts of the conflict-affected area, particularly South Ossetia and the Gori region, remain for the most part inaccessible to humanitarian organizations due to ongoing insecurity, lawlessness and other constraints," Ban said in a statement.

He urged "all sides to control forces under their command to ensure that the current state of lawlessness ceases."

Highlighting the dangers to aid workers, UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters that men in unmarked military uniforms had hijacked two UN vehicles in Gori. The vehicles were recovered.

The war between Russia and Georgia erupted last week after Georgian troops entered the breakaway region of South Ossetia to restore Tbilisi's control over the area, prompting Moscow to attack and invade the former Soviet republic.

Russia's UN ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, told reporters later he had heard nothing negative from the UN secretariat about the humanitarian situation in Georgia.

"I've not heard any complaints from the United Nations," he said. "If they have any complaints, please tell them to contact the Russian ambassador or the Russian mission."

He added: "Please tell them not to participate in [a] disinformation campaign but rather deal seriously with the matters they are supposed to deal with."

Ban also welcomed the cease-fire agreement reached by the governments of Georgia and Russia and brokered by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, but was concerned about "reports of some continuing violence, with civilians bearing the brunt."

Ban urged all sides to comply with international humanitarian and human rights law.

Georgian Ambassador Irakli Alasania dismissed suggestions by a senior Russian military official that US military personnel delivering aid were smuggling weapons into Georgia.

"This is false," he said, adding that "Russia has no authority, not moral and of course not legal, to question what is in the goods."

But the presence of the US military in Georgia brought more than humanitarian benefits. "We think that this really can be a deterrent for the future escalation by the Russian side in this conflict," Alasania said.