S.Ossetian Dies in Clash with Georgian Police

A South Ossetian militiaman suspected of abducting  two Georgian citizens and stealing a car from Tbilisi was killed in a clash with Georgian police on June 9, the Georgian Interior Ministry said.

?Giorgi Tedeev was killed after a police chase of a stolen car from Tbilisi ended in a shootout at the village of Chorchana in Khashuri district [near the South Ossetian conflict zone]. Another suspect, Arkadi Dzeranov, managed to escape and found a safe haven on territory controlled by the South Ossetian side,? the Interior Ministry said.

The South Ossetian Press and Information Committee (PIC), however, reported that Tedeev had been killed in the village of Tsnelisi in the Znauri District, west of the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali.

It said a local resident of the village had also been badly injured in the attack.

On May 5, the Georgian Interior Ministry posted a statement on its website, saying that Giorgi Tedeev and another South Ossetian militiaman, were suspected of abducting two citizens of Georgia. The Interior Ministry demanded the South Ossetian side release the kidnapped people and hand over the suspects. Otherwise, it threatened to take ?appropriate measures.? The two Georgians were released several days later.

Meanwhile, the South Ossetian Press and Information Committee also claimed on June 9 that special forces of the Georgian Interior Ministry planned an operation aimed ?at capturing or liquidating? South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity.

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