Deputy Interior Minister: Some Gangs are Beyond Tskhinvali Control

Georgian Deputy Interior Minister Bidzina Bregadze said at a news briefing on June 8 that the South Ossetian de facto authorities apparently fail to control some of the criminal groupings in the conflict zone. He said both the Georgian and South Ossetian law enforcers know about the group, which kidnapped four Georgians on June 6.

?I call on this group to urgently release the hostages,? Bidzina Bregadze said at the news briefing.

The Deputy Interior Minister also called on the population to refrain from moving within the conflict zone due to the aggravated criminal situation there. 

Meanwhile, in an information note issued by the Press and Information Committee of breakaway South Ossetia on June 7, the South Ossetian side claimed that ?Georgians were involved in criminal business and their disappearance is linked with disputes among criminal gangs.”

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