Missions

Violent fighting between Russian and Georgian forces in the breakaway region of South Ossetia forced 160,000 civilians to settle temporarily in camps where living conditions were particularly difficult. At the request of OCHA, TSF deployed to provide telecom facilities for UNHCR-led assessments in the west of the country. More than 300 families were also able to contact their relatives during telephony operations.

Heavy rains at the end of 2007 caused severe floods that affected several communities in northern and eastern Bolivia. In addition to the 48 fatalities and 5 missing, more than 40,000 families were affected and depended on humanitarian aid. OCHA requested that TSF provide IT and telecom support to UNDAC teams assessing the needs of survivors. Two coordination centres were also connected by TSF in La Paz and Santa Cruz.

Faced with violent fires that ravaged large parts of Portugal, Télécoms Sans Frontières team deployed to the district of Castelo Branco to provide satellite telecommunications for the Portuguese Civil Defence teams and all other rescue teams on the ground.