South Ossetia closes border with Georgia for holiday

The checkpoints on the border with Georgia will be closed for two days on the occasion of the Day of Knowledge, the South-Ossetian State Security Committee (known as the KGB) has announced.

On August 22, the South-Ossetia KGB announced the stop of operation of the checkpoints on the border with Georgia in connection with the celebration of the anniversary of independence recognition. David Katsarava, the head of the movement "For De-Occupation of Georgia", stated then that the ban on crossing the border would create a threat of kidnapping for the Georgian citizens living near the demarcation line.

Ekaterina Byazrova, the head of the press service of the South-Ossetian KGB, said that on the days of border closure, border guards are planning some activities to prevent offences, the "InterPressNews" reports.

Earlier, the South-Ossetian Parliament accused Georgia of violating the border because of the construction of a block-post. At the South-Ossetian village of Tsnelis, border patrols were deployed near the block-post. The Georgian State Security Service (SSS) has stated that the new police post is located near the village of Chorchana, the territory, covered by the Georgian jurisdiction. The SSS has stated that South Ossetia failed to present clear reasons why the block-post should be removed.