Three Georgians Dead in Overnight Shelling in South Ossetia Three Georgians were killed and several others injured as a result of an overnight shelling in breakaway South Ossetia. A majority of the overnight fire was heard from the village of Sarabuki, which is controlled by the Ossetian side. The Georgian side accuses the South Ossetian militias of opening fire at the Georgian villages located in the conflict area. “We do not need an escalation of the situation or the resolution of the conflict through use of force,” State Minister for Conflict Resolutions Goga Khaindrava said on August 12. Meanwhile, the South Ossetian authorities blame the Georgian side for provoking an armed conflict in the breakaway region. Irina Gagloyeva, spokesperson for the South Ossetian de facto authorities, told RIA Novosti on August 12 during a telephone conversation that Tskhinvali, the capital of breakaway South Ossetia, and the surrounding villages were heavily shelled by the Georgian side last night. Earlier on August 12 the South Ossetian de facto authorities set an ultimatum for the Georgian authorities, demanding that it stop the shelling of Tskhinvali within 30 minutes or, they threatened, they would eliminate the illegal armed groups that had filtered into the conflict area, RIA Novosti reports. The shootouts occurred in the breakaway region just as the Georgian Defense and State Ministers wrapped-up a two-day visit to Moscow in which talks were held between the two men and several Russian officials, including Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov. The sides also agreed to pull out all extra troops from the South Ossetian conflict area not part of the designated peacekeeping force there. “The Ossetian separatists want to involve us [the Georgian side] in an armed conflict. We are forced to respond to their shootings when the lives of our population living in the conflict area are endangered,” State Minister for Conflict Resolutions Goga Khaindrava said upon his return from Russia’s capital Moscow. However, both the Defense Minister and the State Minister refrained from commenting on the details of the Moscow talks, or any political agreements reached regarding the South Ossetian conflict. According to the position of the Russian authorities, the peacekeeping force deployed in the South Ossetian conflict zone is designated to ensure the safety of the local population. The conflict should be resolved within the frames of the Joint Control Commission, involving the Georgian, South Ossetian, Russian and North Ossetian sides, the Russian authorities claim. Meanwhile, the Georgian authorities accuse the Russian peacekeeping troops deployed in the South Ossetian conflict area of cooperating with the South Ossetia militias. “For the first time the Russian peacekeepers openly fixed their position in the South Ossetian conflict. During last night’s [August 11] overnight shelling they provided the South Ossetian militias with information regarding the movements of Georgian peacekeepers,” Deputy Security Minister Gigi Ugulava said at a news briefing on August 11. With the aggravated situation in the Tskhinvali region serving as a backdrop, the Georgian Power Ministers are holding talks with President Saakashvili and Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania over the recent developments in breakaway South Ossetia. Georgian State Minister for Conflict Resolutions Goga Khaindrava said before the talks that he intends to leave for the Tskhinvali region and that he did not rule out the possible arrival of Zurab Zhvania in the breakaway region. Georgian Parliamentary Chairperson Nino Burjanadze met today with visiting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and acquainted him with the recent developments in the Tskhinvali region. The Turkish Prime Minister expressed his readiness to assisting in a peaceful resolution of the conflict. “Our supreme task is to avoid involvement in an armed confrontation and settle the conflict through peaceful means. Everybody should see who has inspired this conflict. We will provide as much information as possible about the real situation in the conflict area,” Nino Burjanadze said after the talks with the Turkish Prime Minister.
Earlier, on August 10, the Russian Defense Minister announced Russia’s intention to hand-over the Russian military facilities operating in the regions of Georgia to the Georgian authorities, saying that “we [Russia] do not need these facilities.”
