00:53, 11 October 2006

Authorities of Georgia detained three ministers of South Ossetia

Without explaining the reasons, the authorities of Georgia detained in the village of Ergneti the members of the South Ossetia government: Merab Chigoev, minister of justice, Jemal Jigkaev, minister of public health, and Alla Jioeva, minister of education. Irina Gagloeva, head of the Press Department of South Ossetia, told this to the ITAR-TASS.

"The members of the government were on their routine visit to the Leninogorskiy District of the Republic. They were kept for two hours at a police station and released only after interference of Mr. Antadze, Georgian co-chairs of the Mixed Control Commission," she said.

It is not known, however, how the group of the country's officials will get back to Tskhinvali - the road was blocked off by special forces ("spetsnaz") of the Georgian Ministry of Defence right after the arrival of the delegation to the Leninogorskiy District, the "Vesti.ru" reports.