"According to the Federal Migration Service's department for the republic of North Ossetia, 32,199 people have returned to South Ossetia since August 12," when Russia completed its operation to force Georgia to peace, the service said in a statement.
In the past two days, 279 South Ossetians have returned home, said Vladimir Ivanov, spokesman for the emergencies ministry of the adjacent Russian republic of North Ossetia.
Preliminary reports estimated 36,000 South Ossetians fled to Russia's Southern federal district, the bulk of them to North Ossetia, following the Georgian attack.
Ivanov added that 28 of South Ossetia's 156 essential facilities had so far been repaired.
Russia recognized South Ossetia and another Georgian breakaway republic, Abkhazia, as sovereign states on August 26. Only Nicaragua has so far followed suit, but Belarus is also likely to do so later this month.
