Civil activist alleges Russian occupation forces involved in ‘borderisation’ in Gori municipality

Russian occupation forces in central Georgia’s Gori Municipality have been observed in ‘borderisation’ activities, anti-occupation activist David Katsarava said on social media on Wednesday.

Katsarava, member of the Power is in Unity activist movement, said so-called border guards from the occupation forces had been seen making fresh “border” markings in the municipality’s village of Kirbali. In a Facebook post, Katsarava said the individuals had used white ribbons  to make the markings on trees and bushes in the area.

The reports have been made along with a video posted by the movement on Facebook. The footage allegedly shows armed men crossing a section adjacent to the Administrative Boundary Line separating the Georgian-controlled territory from the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region in the village.

The observed individuals were reportedly seen crossing a local cemetery during their actions, with locals telling Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Georgian service they believed the occupation forces intended to erect illegal barbed wire fences denoting a new location of the “border”.

The State Security Service of Georgia has denied the report released by the anti-occupation movement.

The village of Kirbali is one of the villages in Gori Municipality that frequently see tension heightened by ‘boderisation’ activities by occupying forces. Locals are often illegally arrested by the Russian troops while crossing an arbitrarily defined administrative line to herd livestock or visit a local church.

The area where the church is located had been part of Kirbali before the 2008 Russia-Georgia war. Hundreds of hectares of this land were captured by the occupation forces as a result of the conflict.