De facto Tskhinvali closes two ‘crossing points’ with rest of Georgia, citing ‘tension’ as reason
De facto Tskhinvali government did not say when the crossing points will reopen.Photo: cominf.org.
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The de facto Tskhinvali government has announced the closure of two crossing points with the rest of Georgia, saying the reason is an ‘escalation of tension at certain sections of the border with Georgia.’
The so-called security committee of Tskhinvali has accused Tbilisi of sparking the tension, stating that the crossing points will reopen when the tension fades.
The closure is for the security of locals and will concern the crossing points near the villages of Razdakhani and Sinaguri,” the agency said.
Tskhinvali stated on September 4 that Tbilisi was building a new police post in the village of Perevi, in the west of the country, bordering the village of Sinaguri which is now under the Russian control.
The Georgian State Security Service denied the reports, saying that an existing police post would be relocated on Tbilisi-administered territory and the de facto government of Tskhivali had been informed about the change several times.
Tskhinvali was remanding the removal of a police post from the village of Chorchana, on the Tbilisi-administered territory, in Khashuri municipality, which Tbilisi refused to meet. Video by EUMM, reflecting patrolling in the forest of Chorchana.
On September 6 the central Georgian government confirmed that Tskhinvali opened a new police post on the Tbilisi-administered territory, near the village of Chorchana, Khashuri municipality.
The central Georgian government says that the closure of the crossing points further escalated tension on the ground and created serious problems for locals who are unable to visit the rest of the country for their everyday necessities.
Tskhinvali and the Georgian region of Abkhazia have been recognised as independent states by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Syria after the Russia-Georgia 2008 war.
The rest of the international community says that the regions are occupied by Russia.
Foreign diplomats and experts, attending the fifth Tbilisi International Conference- Now What?, have visited the occupation line in the village of Odzisi before the opening of the two-day conference earlier today.It is possible to see the Russian base located in the village of Akhmaji from Odzisi.
De facto MPs of occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region have appealed to the parliament of the Russian Federation to react to the construction of a Georgian police checkpoint in the Tbilisi-controlled village of Chorchana, close to the occupied village of Tsnelisi.
The central Georgian government has confirmed that a ‘police post’ opened by occupying forces near the village of Tsnelisi, Kareli Municipality, is on Tbilisi-administered territory. The confirmation came after today’s meeting in the village of Ergneti between the members of the central Georgian government and the de facto leadership of the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region.
The de facto government of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region is clearing a road to a new ‘police checkpoint’ in the village of Tsnelisi, Kareli municipality of Georgia, at an altitude of 944 meters.
The Georgian State Security (SSS) says that the occupying forces are carrying out illegal works at two locations within Tbilisi-administered territory, near the village of Chorchana, in the Khashuri municipality. "The actions are destructive and carry high threats, making the situation tense on the ground and complicating the lives of locals,” SSS told the IPN news agency.
The fourth meeting with members of the de facto Tskhinvali government, organised to ease recent tension at the occupation line, has ended without results. The situation became more tense at the end of August when the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali protested the opening of an ordinary police post in the village of Chorchana, Khashuri municipality, on Tbilisi administered territory.
The European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM), which is the only mission deployed in Georgia after the Russia-Georgia 2008 war, has provided details regarding the current tension at Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region ‘‘due to the level of press interest and to dispel inaccurate reports.”
The US is concerned by the current tension at the Tskhinvali occupation line and the closure of so-called borders which further complicates the situation on the ground and creates serious humanitarian problems, Acting US Ambassador to Georgia Elisabeth Rood said.
The de facto leadership of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region has announced a temporary closure of a so-called checkpoint at the village of Perevi in western Georgia. The de facto security committee of Tskhinvali says that the reason for the closure between 8 pm on September 20 and 6 am on September 22 is the so called Day of the Republic of South Ossetia.
Georgian Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili has stated in parliament earlier today that at the moment she was delivering a speech in parliament, Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region was “was almost fully isolated” from the rest of Georgia.
Occupation forces have refused to dismantle two illegal ‘police-posts’ arranged on Tbilisi-administered territory and declined to open a so-called checkpoint to the Akhalgori district, where the local population is on the verge of humanitarian catastrophe.
The de facto leadership of Georgia’s Russian occupied region of Abkhazia announced today that the closure of the so-called border between the region and the rest of the country has been abolished.
Tamar Gigauri, who fell into a well of seven meters deep in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Akhalgori on November 4, is in critical condition, states Democracy Research Institute.
The Russian controlled occupation forces are conducting a census in the occupied Akhalgori district, the Democracy Research Institute NGO says.
The de facto security committee of the Russia-occupied Georgian region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) announced the temporary closure of its Karzmani crossing point connecting the occupied region with the rest of Georgia.
State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality of Georgia Ketevan Tsikhelashvili said restrictions on the freedom of movement in occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) should be lifted. Minister Tsikhelashvili said earlier today that the closure of crossing points connecting the occupied region with the rest of Georgia holds peaceful population hostage.
De facto authorities of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region has temporarily opened the crossing point between occupied Akhalgori district and the rest of Georgia for pensioners only after an almost five-month closure, which has created a severe humanitarian situation on the ground. Local civic activist Tamar Mearakishvili reports that the crossing point opened earlier today for pensioners “whose only income is the pension issued by the central government” of Georgia.
People in Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region don’t have access to vitally important healthcare services as the region has been in isolation for months, State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili stated earlier today.
European Union Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell calls on the de facto authorities in the Russian-occupied Georgian region of Tskhinvali and the Russian Federation to allow for the reopening of all crossing points’ at the occupation line.