Tbilisi Closes Down Reservist Camp in S.Ossetian Conflict Zone

The Georgian Defense Ministry announced on April 19 that it has closed down a training camp for the Georgian reserve forces in the village of Dzevera, which is located 12-13 kilometers away from the breakaway South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali.

?The reserve forces camp will be re-located to another location. A special group has been set up at the Defense Ministry which will define the new location,? Spokesperson for the Defense Ministry Nana Intskirveli told Civil Georgia on April 19.

The reserve forces camp in Dzevera was set up last November and immediately triggered protests and concerns from the South Ossetian side. Only joint ? Georgian, Ossetian and Russian ? peacekeeping troops are authorized to be deployed in the conflict zone, according to a 1992 peace agreement. The agreement also defines the conflict zone as the territory that resides within a 15-kilometer radius from the center of the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali.

?We decided to re-locate this camp in order to prevent the ungrounded irritation of the South Ossetian side, which was triggered by the presence of this training camp in the village of Dzevera,? Georgian MP Guram Vakhtangashvili, who is an elected official from the Georgian-populated, individual constituency of Didi Liakhvi gorge in South Ossetia, told Civil Georgia.

In February, Georgian State Minister for Conflict Resolution Issues Goga Khaindrava called for a closure of this training camp, admitting that the presence of reserve forces there was a violation of the 1992 ceasefire agreement.

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