'Dozens' not thousands killed in South Ossetia
(08-18 18:32)
The number of civilians killed in fighting in South Ossetia amounts to ''dozens'' rather than thousands as claimed by Russian officials in initial estimates, a leading human rights group said.
''Our estimate does not confirm the official figure. We believe we are talking about dozens rather than thousands,'' a researcher for Human Rights Watch, Anna Neistat, said.
''We have a rough estimate based on hospital figures and eyewitness testimony in the worst affected areas.''
Russia said 1,600 were killed in South Ossetia after a Georgian attempt on August 7 to seize control of the province, which broke away from Tbilisi in the early 1990s.
South Ossetian separatist authorities have put the toll at more than 2,000.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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