08 August 2009, 02:00
South Ossetia detains five citizens of Georgia for crossing its border
On August 7, Yuri Tanayev, South Ossetia Minister of Defense, announced that five citizens of Georgia had been detained for illegal crossing the border in the area of Ossetia village of Disev located in front of the Georgian village of Koshka. In its turn, Georgia claims kidnapping of five shepherds near the village of Koshka.
Starting from the midnight of August 5, the border of South Ossetia with Georgia is closed upon the order of South Ossetia president Eduard Kokoity. He motivates his decision by provocations from the Georgian side and the threat of penetration of the "swine flue" from Georgia to South Ossetia.
The Georgians claimed to be perpetrators were detained by South Ossetia Ministry of Defense officers at the check-point in the village of Disev. According to Tanayev, after illegally crossing the border, these persons had walked one-and-a-half kilometers on the territory of South Ossetia, reports "Interfax".
The detained themselves claimed that they had been looking for their cows. They were taken to Tskhinval and, after an investigation and upon the instruction of South Ossetia president Eduard Kokoity, were released, informs the GHN.
