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Russian humanitarian aid convoy enters South Ossetia

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A Russian humanitarian aid convoy entered South Ossetia's devastated capital of Tskhinvali early on Monday.
SOUTH OSSETIA, August 11 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian humanitarian aid convoy entered South Ossetia's devastated capital of Tskhinvali early on Monday.

Georgia launched major ground and air attacks to seize control of South Ossetia on Friday, prompting Russia to send in tanks and hundreds of troops. Around 2,000 civilians have since died in Tskhinvali, according to Russia. A total of 34,000 people are also reported to have fled across the Russian border.

The convoy of 80 vehicles, accompanied by several armored personal carriers, has brought medical supplies, food, diesel generators and other essentials to the capital of the Georgian breakaway republic.

Pavel Plat, a chief military expert at Russia's emergencies ministry, said mobile hospitals brought by the convoy could begin treating their first patients today. Work will also be carried out on Tskhinvali's hospital, which was almost completely destroyed by Georgian bombs, he said. Over a hundred injured people are currently being treated in makeshift wards in the hospital's cellars.

"Equipment for a tent camp for 500 people will also be delivered to Tskhinvali," Plat said, adding that the city, which had a pre-war population of around 30,000, would also receive 52.5 metric tons of food, including cereals, canned food, salt, and sugar.

The heads of a number of Russian universities have also said they are ready to accept students from South Ossetian areas devastated by the conflict, Russian Education Minister Andrei Fursenko said.

"A number of regions have proposed using their capacities for the accommodation and instruction of South Ossetian youths," Fursenko said, describing the situation in Georgia's rebel region as a humanitarian catastrophe.

The minister added that Russian authorities would also discuss a longer-term plan for supporting and restoring educational establishments in South Ossetia.

Russia has also sent around seventy 20-seat buses to South Ossetia to evacuate people from the region.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced on Sunday that the government would provide $10 billion rubles ($420 million) in aid for South Ossetia.

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