Washington urges end to violence in Georgian rebel region
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States on Monday called for an end to violence in Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia, which in the past week has seen the deadliest clashes in the province in years.
"We've seen reports that at least six people have been killed and 21 injured in the Georgia region of South Ossetia in the last few days," said State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos.
"We call for an immediate halt to violence and call for direct talks between the parties," he said.
"These incidents underscore the need for an immediate increase in the number of OSCE monitors in South Ossetia,"said Gallegos, referring to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe which has expressed concern over violence in the region.
Washington would also like to see "joint Georgian-Russian monitoring of the Roksky Tunnel, to stem the flow of illicit arms, ammunition and armed groups into the region," he said.
The tunnel links Russia's North Ossetia to the pro-Moscow breakaway region of South Ossetia.
Fighting in South Ossetia, a small mountainous region that broke away from Georgian control during a war in the early 1990s, often flares up during the summer months.
Tensions over South Ossetia and another breakaway Georgian region, Abkhazia, have soared in recent months since Moscow announced it was establishing formal ties with the separatists.
Georgia accuses Moscow of seeking to annex the territories and derail its efforts to join the NATO military alliance, which Russia vehemently opposes.
