De facto Tskhinvali closes administrative border prior to Georgia’s elections

Since 2009 more than 2,000 Georgian citizens have been kidnapped at the Administrative Boundary Line near Georgia’s occupied territories. Photo by N. Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
Agenda.ge, 07 Oct 2016 - 12:40, Tbilisi,Georgia

The administrative border separating Georgia and its occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region has been closed by the breakaway region’s de facto leadership ahead of tomorrow’s Parliamentary Elections in Georgia.

The Security Committee of de facto Tskhinvali, a region currently occupied by Russia, said "a series of provocations are being planned in Georgia to create public-political unrest during the elections” and to ensure safety, the administrative border would be closed for just under 48 hours, from 8pm today to 7pm October 9.

Georgia and the majority of the western world do not recognise the independence of Tskhinvali region and believe the region is an integral part of Georgia.

Russia and Nicaragua recognised the independence of Tskhinvali and Georgia’s other occupied region Abkhazia in 2008 following the brief but violent Russia-Georgia war.

In 2009 Venezuela, Vanuatu, Nauru and Tuvalu took the same step however several years’ later Vanuatu and Tuvalu in the Pacific Islands revoked their recognition and now declare Abkhazia and Tskhinvali as integral parts of Georgia.