Georgian Minister Blames Moscow for Provocation in S.Ossetia

Georgian police will be reinforced in the village of Avnevi in the South Ossetian conflict zone with a special purpose unit, Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili said on August 7 after unknown armed men attacked a police car, injuring three Georgian policemen.

Merabishvili, who arrived in the conflict zone after the incident, said that provocations of this kind ?are a direct order of Moscow.?
 
But the South Ossetian side accused Tbilisi of staging provocations in the conflict zone with the aim of undermining the situation.

?Our [policemen] will be reinforced here by both special purpose and police units to provide the local population with security,? Merabishvili told reporters.

Marat Kulakhmetov, the Commander of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces stationed in the conflict zone, told Interfax news agency the Georgian and South Ossetian side have agreed that the Georgian side will deploy 12 more policemen in the village of Avnevi.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)