On October 1, 1999, the U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR) wrote a letter to the Russian government, expressing concern that the Russian army was preventing displaced persons from fleeing Chechnya and urging the army to open all of its border crossings to persons seeking to escape the current violence. "USCR is deeply concerned for the welfare of those potentially trapped inside Chechnya as a result of Russia's decision to close most of its borders with Chechnya," the letter said. USCR urged Russian officials to apply "the spirit of Article 33 of the UN Refugee Convention--preventing the forced return of refugees and asylum seekers to situations where they risk persecution or violence--to the current situation playing out on Russia's internal border with Chechnya." On October 14, as the number of displaced Chechens reached more than 150,000, Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned the Russian government for reportedly turning back ethnic Chechen civilians attempting to cross the North Ossetian border, while allowing ethnic Russians to cross the border. "The Russian government is obligated to protect displaced persons, and must do so without discrimination," HRW said. "Instead, Russia is sending Chechen refugees back to the very bombs they are fleeing. This exposes them to mortal danger, and is a gross violation of Russian and International law," HRW said.