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S. Ossetian village attacked from Georgia (part 2)
http://www.interfax.com/3/509058/news.aspx
TSKHINVALI. Aug 4 (Interfax) - The South Ossetian village of Otrev,
Tskhinvali region, was attacked from the Georgian village of Plavi at
10:05 p.m. on Monday, the South Ossetian Defense Ministry told Interfax.
Three mortar shots were fired at the village, the source said.
"Ossetia did not yield to the provocation and did not fire back,"
the South Ossetian defense Ministry said. The attack did not cause any
destruction or casualties, said the ministry.
A group of South Ossetian law enforcement officials will conduct an
investigation and into the attack on Tuesday, said the source.
It is the third mortar attack against a South Ossetian village over
the past few days, the South Ossetian ministry said.
In the early hours of July 30, two mortar shots were fired against
South Ossetia from the Georgian village of Nikozi, the ministry has
reported. No one was hurt in the attack, the South Ossetian Ministry has
reported.
However, according to the Georgian Defense Ministry, a Georgian
Interior Ministry post in Nikozi also came under attack in the early
hours of July 30. No one was hurt in the attack, the Georgian Ministry
has reported.
A similar incident occurred around 9:25 a.m. on August 1, when two
mortar shots were fired against a South Ossetian Defense Ministry post
near the Georgian village of Ditsi, South Ossetian Defense Minister
Ibragim Gasseyev told Interfax.
Georgia has called the allegations of an attack a provocation.
"There was no shooting from the Georgian and the Russian sides, Georgian
Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili told Ekho Moskvy radio.
Georgia Risks Inflaming Caucasus Again – Russia
http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=200908040117dowjonesdjonline000028&title=georgia-risks-inflaming-caucasus-again---russia
MOSCOW (AFP)--Russia on Tuesday accused Georgia of preparing a series of provocations on its de-facto border with breakaway South Ossetia ahead of the first anniversary of Moscow's war with Tbilisi.
Tensions have been rising between the ex-Soviet states turned foes over the last days in the volatile Caucasus region as they prepare to mark the Aug. 7 anniversary of the outbreak of the war.
"According to our information, the Georgian leadership is organizing various 'events' on the border with South Ossetia for the anniversary of August 2008," Russian deputy foreign minister Grigory Karasin told the government Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper.
"They have a clearly provocative character," he added.
The Russian defense ministry warned at the weekend in a startling statement that the military reserved the right to hit back with force if Tbilisi continued carrying out "provocations" in the area.
"In such an explosive region, the developments can be dangerous.
"Therefore we are obliged to envisage different possibilities of action, including in the media field," Karasin said, accusing Georgia of carrying out an "information war" against Russia.
The war last year erupted when an attempt by Georgian military to retake South Ossetia was rebuffed by Russia. Moscow then sent troops and tanks deep into Georgian territory.
After the war, Russian forces mostly withdrew into South Ossetia and another breakaway Georgian region, Abkhazia, but Moscow then infuriated the West by recognizing both regions as independent.
http://www.kyivpost.com/world/46355
Today, 09:10 | Associated Press
ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) -- Uzbekistan has condemned Russian plans to escalate its military presence in neighboring Kyrgyzstan saying it could foment instability across Central Asia.
The Uzbek Foreign Ministry's statement late Monday signals a growing rift among members of a Russian-led security alliance of ex-Soviet nations.
Russia clinched a tentative agreement Saturday allowing it to significantly boost the number of troops it has deployed in Kyrgyzstan for a period of up to 49 years.
Uzbekistan says the deal will lead to increased militarization in the region and could provoke a surge in Islamic militancy.
The United States also has an important air base in Kyrgyzstan that it uses to support military operations in nearby Afghanistan.
Uzbekistan raps plan for new Russia military base
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL4292697
Tue Aug 4, 2009 3:27am EDT
ALMATY, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Russia's plan to open a second military base in Kyrgyzstan would destabilise the wider Central Asian region, Uzbekistan said late on Monday, exposing fresh divisions between Moscow and its ex-Soviet allies.
Kyrgyzstan this month gave the go-ahead to Moscow's second base on its territory, close to the southern border with Uzbekistan. The country had earlier told the United States it could keep open its own military air base in the country.
"Uzbekistan sees no necessity... in implementing the plans to place an additional group of Russian military forces in Kyrgyzstan's south," Jahon news agency, run by Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry, wrote.
It said the Russian military presence could provoke further "militarisation" and ethnic conflicts. It could also lead to a resurgence of "radical extremist" forces who may destabilise the situation in the whole region, Jahon said.
In May, Uzbekistan blamed Islamist rebels for attacks in the town of Khanabad, close to the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border, that killed one policeman. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan -- which borders Afghanistan -- have also reported a string of gun fights with what they called militants linked to the Taliban. [ID:nLT472379]
Uzbekistan became closely aligned with Russia in 2005 after the West condemned its handling of a protest in the town of Andizhan where government troops fired on protesters, killing hundreds, according to witnesses.
But it has since drifted away from Moscow while mending ties with the United States. This year, Uzbekistan allowed Washington to ship supplies for Afghan troops through its territory and praised President Barack Obama's address to Muslims. (Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; editing by Patrick Graham)
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