WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government gave the international Red Cross $2.4 million Tuesday in response to an appeal for food and other relief supplies for 150,000 people displaced by the conflict in Chechnya.


In a statement on the grant, the State Department said the money would pay for food, medical supplies, water and sanitation needs, emergency winter assistance and rehabilitation programs for the displaced.


The statement said Russia bore primary responsibility for the displaced people but the ICRC's work was a useful supplement.