TENSIONS RISING IN SOUTH OSSETIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L TBILISI 003198

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/09/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV GG
SUBJECT: TENSIONS RISING IN SOUTH OSSETIA

Classified By: Ambassador John F. Tefft, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (U) On December 2, the South Ossetian press reported that
a checkpoint on the road to the Ossetian village of Zari was
hit by fire from a grenade launcher. Later press reports
from South Ossetia claimed that Georgian special police
forces attacked a bus traveling along a bypass road leading
from Tskhinvali. No casualties were reported.


2. (C) Poloff spoke with OSCE Political Officer Jurgen
Schmidt, who said JPKF and OSCE observers determined that the
reported explosion was the result of an accidental land mine
detonation along a bypass road leading from Tskhinvali to the
village of Java. Schmidt said South Ossetians were spreading
propaganda, there was no indication that an attack took
place.
TEFFT