New Year behind barbed wire:
Tskhinvali closes so-called border
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Georgian and Ossetian relatives residing near the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) separating Georgia from its breakaway region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) will meet the New Year isolated from one another by barbed wire fences.
Families and acquaintances living in the ABL areas endured year-long uncertainty and hardship in the face of kidnappings of locals by occupying Russian border guards.
But the New Year's Eve festive period will not grant them much opportunity for a rare celebration following the announcement of the de facto authorities of Tskhinvali yesterday.
The passage through the ABL - used by civilians on both sides to cross the boundary - was closed down today morning and will remain shut until 9pm on January 1.
Families and relatives living in towns and villages near the boundary will be prevented from crossing the line, with the de facto authorities citing "security" reasons for the measure.
Residents of the areas will be especially affected by the decision as their households were randomly separated by the establishment of the ABL.
The closing down of the boundary crossing was reported by local news agency Sputnik Ossetia, as the self-imposed South Ossetian authorities said the move was carried out "in relation to the information that some ISIS fighters are in Georgia”.
Relatives living on opposite sides of the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) between Georgia’s breakaway Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia) and the rest of Georgia will have no chance of celebrating the upcoming New Year together.
Citizens of Georgia living near the occupation line with Tskinvali (South Ossetia) region will have no chance of celebrating the upcoming Easter on April 12 as tradition calls to honour their loved ones.
Negotiations on possible arrangements to facilitate visits to cemeteries and religious sites over the upcoming Easter period were unsuccessful. The 53rd meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) was held in Ergneti yesterday.
The installation of barbed wire fences by Russian and Ossetian border guards has left a historical Georgian church isolated behind the fences, which mark the so-called boundary between Georgian and Ossetian territory.
The total length of barbed wire fences illegally erected by Russian occupational troops on Georgian soil is 63km, as of today. All cases of human rights violation in Georgia’s occupied regions were collated into one document for the global community to review.
Relatives living on opposite sides of the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) between Georgia’s breakaway Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia) and the rest of Georgia will have no chance of visiting each other for the next two days.
Georgian Minister of Reconciliation and Civil Equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili has come to the Atotsi village of Kareli municipality today, where occupants are erecting new barbed wire fences and stated that through this step, Russia is isolating the Tskhinvali region from the outside world and is creating “unbearable” conditions for ethnic Ossetians.