MOSCOW, August 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Foreign Ministry criticized on Monday international journalist organizations for failure to pay close attention to the ongoing conflict in South Ossetia and the conditions in which journalists are working.
Alexander Klimchuk, a photographer working as a stringer for RIA Novosti, and Gigi Chikhladze, a journalist from the Moscow edition of Newsweek, have been killed in the South Ossetia conflict.
Several personnel from Rossiya TV Channel, a special correspondent of Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda and others have been wounded in the violence.
"Where is the Committee for Journalists' Protection from New York, representatives of Reporters without Borders?" Where is their reaction to what is going on?" deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman Boris Malakhov said.
Georgia's attack on South Ossetia started on Friday, prompting Russia to send in tanks and hundreds of troops. Around 2,000 civilians have since died in Tskhinvali, according to Russia. A total of 34,000 people are also reported to have fled across the Russian border.
The team had been filming at the first village north of Gori towards the Ossetian border. Georgian forces were dug in to the north of this village and it is recommended no one should go further than this point under any circumstances.
An ITN team which ventured further reportedly came under fire and a bullet went through the trunk of their car.
In Istanbul, Kanalturk television said two Turkish TV journalists were wounded Sunday in South Ossetia as they were covering the escalating conflict over the breakaway region.
Levent Ozturk, a correspondent for Kanalturk, and cameraman Guray Ervin were slightly wounded by bullets as they were driving through South Ossetia's capital Tskhinvali, the TV station said.
