MIA: Two OSCE Observers Abducted

Two monitors from OSCE have been detained by “South Ossetian fighters” at the village of Adzvi of Gori district and taken to the breakaway region’s capital, Tskhinvali, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) said in a brief statement posted on its website.

It said that OSCE monitors “were kidnapped” at 10:30am local time on February 10. “The Georgian Interior Minister strongly condemns the incident and calls on the command of the occupying [Russian] forces to immediately release the hostages,” the MIA said.

Authorities in breakaway South Ossetia denied detention of OSCE monitors and said they were released immediately after checking their papers.

“At 10:20am on Tuesday two representatives of OSCE crossed the Georgian-South Ossetian border; they were stopped by the officers from local militia of the village of Artsevi. After a brief conversation with OSCE personnel they were released,” RIA Novosti news agency reported quoting a spokesperson from the breakaway region’s interior ministry.

OSCE mission in Georgia has yet to comment.

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