EQUIPO NIZKOR |
|
02Aug08
North Ossetia determined to help South Ossetia repel Georgia’s aggression
North Ossetia is determined to joint its forces with South Ossetia in order to repel Georgia’s aggression, North Ossetian leader Taimuraz Mamsurov told his South Ossetian counterpart Eduard Kokoity by telephone on Saturday.
"North Ossetia is closely watching the situation and is ready to come to its southern brothers’ rescue. We are abhorred by the actions of the Georgian political leadership that has unleashed a real war against Ossetians and we are determined to repel the aggression together," he said.
Mamsurov expressed condolences to the families of those killed and stressed, "the north of Ossetia will not stay indifferent to the fate of its brethren".
The attack on Tskhinvali from Georgia continued throughout the night and stopped only in the morning.
As a result, six people, including a Russian peacekeeper, were killed and 12 were wounded.
The attack on residential districts of Tskhinvali and adjacent Ossetian villages continued from 21:15 Moscow time, Friday, till 01:00, and then, after a short break, grenade launcher and mortar fire resumed and continued till the morning, South Ossetian Interior Minister Mikhail Mindzayev told Itar-Tass by telephone earlier.
Mindzayev believes the attack on Tskhinvali was stopped only because South Ossetia opened retaliatory fire on the Georgian firing positions.
They met with an appropriate response and retreated, he said.
However, Georgian troops brought to the border remain there, and it is hard to say what one can expect of them on Saturday, the official added.
The minister said monitoring groups of peacekeepers were working in the area.
The monitoring conducted by observers of the joint peacekeeping force in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone from three parties together with OSCE mission representatives has established that the fire came from Georgia.
The shooting supposedly from sniper guns came from firing positions recently equipped by Georgia and located some 500 metres west of the Georgian village of Prisi, the peacekeeping force commander's aide Vladimir Ivanov said.
[Source: Itar Tass, Vladikavkaz, 02Aug08]
 | This document has been published on 09Aug08 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. |