The United Nations has warned of a potential food crisis in and around Chechnya, caused by fighting between Russian troops and rebels that has left the rebel region in ruins. The U.N. World Food Program says the war has forced people to keep leaving Chechnya for refugee camps in the neighboring region of Ingushetia, where they depend on aid agencies for food. The program said a lack of donations from the Western governments that typically fund it has made it scale back its work and may force it to curtail operations after June.
Russian authorities say the war is winding down and is trying to get people to return home.