Georgian Occupied Tskhinvali Region Closes So-Called Border Before Elections
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Tuesday, November 27
The de facto Security Committee of the occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) will close the so-called border during the November 28 second round of Georgia's presidential elections.
"South Ossetia's State Security Committee reports that during the second round of Georgian presidential elections will suspend functioning of border checkpoints from 8 pm on November 27, which is related to stepping up security measures. The functioning of checkpoints will resume at 6 am, November 29," the de-facto State Security Committee reports.
The Georgian government has condemned the decision, which is made by the de facto government before certain important dates in the country.
The Russia-Georgia 2008 War was a war between Georgia, Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
The war displaced 192,000 people and while many returned to their homes after the war, 20,272 people, mostly ethnic Georgians, remained displaced.
35 Georgians and 6 Ossetians remain missing since the war.
Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Syria have recognized Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali as independent republics since 2008.
The rest of the international community says that the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali are occupied by Russia.
