OSCE Condemns Firing on its Observers

OSCE Mission in Georgia has condemned shooting by unknown attackers at an OSCE monition patrol vehicle close to the breakaway South Ossetian administrative border on December 10.

“I strongly condemn and deplore this serious attack on unarmed military monitoring officers," Terhi Hakala, the head of OSCE Mission in Georgia, said. “The details of this unacceptable incident are being looked into carefully.”

“This is another regrettable reminder of the urgent need to improve the security situation in the area and the OSCE continues to devote all efforts to this issue,” she added.

In a press statement released late on December 10, the OSCE Mission in Georgia gave some details of the incident.

It said that the incident took place west of the village of Kvemo Khviti and east of the administrative border line when a routine patrol, travelling in an armored vehicle clearly identified with the letters “OSCE”, came under fire after two unidentified men in camouflage uniform emerged from bushes close to the track and began shooting with sub-machine guns.

The Georgian Interior Ministry and Foreign Affairs Ministry said in separate statements on December 10, that the fire was opened at the OSCE patrol vehicle from the territory, which is currently under the control of the South Ossetian militias and the Russian forces.

The South Ossetian side has strongly denied having link to the incident.

“The South Ossetian side has nothing to do with the incident that took place at the Georgian village of Kvemo Khviti,” Ibragim Gassiev, the breakaway region’s deputy defense minister, said. “The village of Kvemo Khviti is located in a kilometer and a half away from the South Ossetian border. Target range of a firearm – even of the best types of firearm – is maximum 800 meters.”

The Georgian side also reported that earlier on December 10, “a remotely controlled explosive device was set off from the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali Region near the village [of] Nikozi,” which “seriously damaged” the Georgian police vehicle. No one was injured.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that these incidents once again demonstrated “the volatility of the security situation on the ground and the necessity to have the international monitoring organizations” inside the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

“Continuous provocations and verbal or physical attacks at the OSCE Mission Military Officers and EU Monitors are clear demonstration that the Russian Federation and the puppet regimes dislike the idea of transparency and impartial monitoring of the occupied regions, where the number of Russian troops and military technique has been increasing recently. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia is strongly convinced that the reinvigoration of the presence of the international monitoring organizations in the occupied regions of Georgia is essential for ensuring the security and stability on the ground,” the statement reads.

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