ESCAPE FROM GEORGIA: Ocean Springs woman gathers prayers for son (Mississippi)

Sun Herald ^ | August 13, 2008 | By KAREN NELSON

[Islander7]

Melanie Allen has been "scared to death" this week knowing her son was scheduled to begin a risky escape from the country of Georgia, where Russian troops are poised for further invasion.

Lee Allen, 34, and his Georgian wife, Tiko, were to have become part of a caravan fleeing the war-torn country. It may be days before Melanie Allen learns if the couple made it out safely.

She was at her Ocean Springs home Tuesday night with friends who are supporting her.

-----snip

On Monday, four days into the fighting as Russia seized several towns and a military base deep in western Georgia, Lee Allen evacuated family and friends from one town where they had a family home to his flat elsewhere in the country.

As time drew near for Lee and his wife to leave, he could no longer call via cell phone because the Russians had bombed nearby cell towers, Melanie Allen said. But she has received several e-mails.

[Islander7]

The money quote:

Lee told his mother that under the guise of doing humanitarian work in the region, the Russians had recently rebuilt a central railroad line, which they then used to transport troops and weapons for the invasion.

"His e-mail Tuesday morning said the Russians were still bombing. He could hear it and could hear the bombers going over," Melanie Allen said. "He's hearing there may be ethnic cleansing."

[justa-hairyape]

Eyewitness accounts from Georgia

...Today, I was standing near Gori and we saw a lot of people who were running from Georgian villages. A lot of people they told us, a lot of people were murdered. A lot of women and young girls are being raped...

[justa-hairyape]

Jersey girls trapped in Georgia