South Ossetia: Georgians kidnap residents of Kabardino-Balkaria

"Citizens of Russia were kidnapped by the Georgian police in the village of Avnev of the Znaur District of South Ossetia, occupied by power agencies of Georgia," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told at the United Press Centre of the Republic of South Ossetia (RSO).

The RSO's Committee for Information has informed that "the incident had occurred at the illegally set up post in Avnev village."

The kidnapped persons were residents of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic Biosman Gizhgiev and Beslan Khaptsev.

The press service of the RSO's Ministry of Internal Affairs has explained that Biosman Gizhgiev and Beslan Khaptsev were visiting their relatives in the Znaur District and were kidnapped on their way back. At detention, the Georgian power agents accused them of illegal crossing the borders and violently took them away from South Ossetia to the city of Gori (Georgia).

The "Caucasian Knot" has informed earlier that several check posts had been deployed by the Georgian party in Avnev village, inhabited by Georgians and controlled by Georgian power agencies, without a sanction of the Mixed Control Commission (MCC) for settling the Georgian-Ossetian conflict. However, the decisions are made in the international format and have priority over domestic legislation of the parties in the conflict zone. Therefore, any posts deployed in the conflict zone without an MCC's decision shall be considered to be illegal.