Tbilisi Hails Sacking of Senior Officials in Breakaway South Ossetia

(Tbilisi, July 2, 2003, Civil Georgia) – Georgian Interior Minister Koba Narchemashvili welcomed arrests and sacking of high officials in the breakaway South Ossetia.

De facto South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoev arrested on June 1 chiefs of special purposes units of the Defense and Security Ministries. Security Minister of the breakaway region escaped the arrest. He also dismissed several key ministers and officials.

?This was internal confrontation. It is impossible to work with those persons, who cannot deal with the drug-business and kidnappings. So, this measure was unavoidable,? Koba Narchemashvili said in the interview to the Rustavi 2 TV channel on July 1.
 
The Minister hopes new appointments will change the criminal situation for better in the breakaway region. Narchemashvili said that the Georgian law enforcers in the adjacent areas of the breakaway region are on high alert.

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