The fighting has subsided and United Nations observers have been patrolling the front line with Russian peacekeepers, but thousands of people have been left homeless.

Aid workers have confirmed reports that Abkhaz militia have been setting fire to some Georgian villages in Gali, to prevent the Georgians returning once the ceasefire has been consolidated. There are no estimates yet of the number of homes destroyed.

A United Nations worker in western Georgia, near the border with Abkhazia, said up to 30,000 people had abandoned their villages, and that many were sheltering in crowded schools, factories and hospitals, some without mattresses and blankets.

The worker said the bulk of those fleeing were likely to be Georgians who travel regularly between their permanent homes in Abkhazia and temporary accommodation in western Georgia, where they receive much needed aid handouts. However, more than 5,000 appeared to be new refugees.

The UN says that 60,000 Georgians may have returned to Gali between 1993 and the start of this year. Some of the refugees enrolled in paramilitary groups that steadily increased their control over the surrounding area.