Blast Reported in South Ossetia

An explosion damaged an abandoned house in the Georgian village of Vanati in the South Ossetian conflict zone late on April 17, causing no casualties, Georgian officials said.

According to the Georgian side, a mortar shell was shot from the nearby Ossetian village of Dmenisi.

The South Ossetian side said that two explosions occurred in the village of Vanati, but denied any links to the incident.

“The South Ossetian side had nothing to do with this. This is a common provocation by the Georgian side. A series of these [provocations] are usually launched during the spring time to destabilize the situation,” the South Ossetian Press and Information Committee quoted the breakaway region’s Defense Minister Anatoly Barankevich as saying on April 18.