12:58, 18 November 2008

Amnesty International: 24,000 Georgians cannot return to South Ossetia

About 24 thousand Georgians who earlier lived in South Ossetia and pre-border territories and who had been forced out of their houses as a result of the recent warfare, cannot return to their residences.

As to the reasons, the authors of the report published by Amnesty International indicate extreme instability and the dangerous situation that now exists along the new border between the internal Georgia and South Ossetia. "Permanent skirmishes, explosions and kidnappings hamper return of refugees," the document runs.

"Citizens of Georgia cannot return to South Ossetia and to the so-called 'buffer zone' also because of actions of the military formations loyal to South Ossetia," emphasized the report, which is quoted by the Reuters.

Earlier, South Ossetia stated that the Georgian party had ousted the Ossetians who lived in the Kakheti District. Georgia refutes this information.