Oregon Public Broadcasting

When Russian tanks rolled into the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia a few days ago, Portland-based Mercy Corps was already nearby. But as Rob Manning reports, the non-profit has pulled back to the relative safety of the Georgian capital.

After eight years in Georgia, Mercy Corps leaders had been preparing to launch a youth program in  South Ossetia, on the north side of the country.

Now that conflict has erupted between Georgia and Russia over the province, Mercy Corps is focusing on helping the thousands of South Ossettians who have fled south into Georgia.

However, Joy Portella with  Mercy Corps says  staff has pulled out of the town of Gori -- where the youth program would have been based. She says they’re concentrating on refugees who can get to the capital, Tbilisi.

Joy Portella: “We are working to get aid to people as soon as possible, in the capital. Gori, obviously, at this point, is a little too unstable to work in.”

Portella says Mercy Corps plans to send emergency response experts to support the refugee assistance effort. They’ll likely be re-located from cleanup efforts following natural disasters in Myanmar and China.