WordBulletin

World Bulletin/News Desk

A South Ossetian border checkpoint was fired upon Saturday, after which local security forces arrested a Georgian Interior Ministry official, according to local media reports, citing the South Ossetian KGB.

The incident occurred around 3:40 a.m. in the Dzausky region of South Ossetia, a self-proclaimed independent breakaway Georgian republic on the Russian border.

“As a result of the actions taken on the territory of South Ossetia, not far from the state border, Georgian Interior Ministry official Mogol Tomiashvili, a resident of the Ksuis village, was arrested,” the South Ossetian news agency RES quoted the KGB as saying.
South Ossetian forces did not return fire.

A rifle and a grenade launcher was reportedly seized from Tomiasvhili.

Russia fought a war with Georgia in 2008 over South Ossetia, and the territory remains at the heart of tensions in the Russian-Georgian relationship.

Six United Nations member states recognize Abkhazia and five recognize South Ossetia. The United States, European Union, and a majority of UN member states have affirmed Georgia’s territorial integrity and do not recognize the regions’ independence.