Georgia”s Interior Ministry said on Monday that four people have been arrested in the breakaway province of South Ossetia, following claims by local authorities that the men were abducted by Georgia.
“We can confirm that these people were detained. They were detained on suspicion of committing various crimes, including drug-related offenses,” ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said.
Earlier in the day, authorities in the rebel region issued a statement saying: “On July 20, at around 11:00 p.m. [20:00 GMT],
Georgia
took four citizens of the
republic
of
South Ossetia
hostage.”
South Ossetia”s interior ministry told RIA Novosti that according to preliminary information the four South Ossetian residents had been seized by Georgian security forces in the
village
of
Eredvi
, located on the territory of the self-proclaimed republic, and were currently being held in the Georgian town of
Gori
.
”
Georgia
asserts that the hostages were taken in response to the detainment by South Ossetia of Georgian citizen Teimuraz Goginashvili, a resident of the
village
of
Nikozi
, who is suspected of murdering Ossetians,” the department said.
It also said that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe
was involved in attempts to resolve the issue.
South Ossetia declared its independence from
Georgia
following the collapse of the
Soviet Union
in 1991, resulting in a bloody conflict that killed hundreds of people. The pro-Western Georgian leadership has said it is determined to bring the breakaway region, along with the rebel region of Abkhazia, back under
Tbilisi
”s control.
