South Ossetia closes border with Georgia

PanARMENIAN.Net - President of South Ossetia, Eduard Kokoity, announced the closure of the administrative border with Georgia from Tuesday midnight, forbidding any vehicles or passengers to cross over.



He explained the move by the necessity "to prevent further provocations from the Georgian side" and "to avoid the threat of the A/H1N1 flu", as 12 Georgians are reported to have been infected.



Tensions in the border area between Georgia and South Ossetia were heightened days before the first anniversary of Georgia's brief war with Russia. While Georgia accused South Ossetia of shelling Georgian villages, South Ossetian authorities said the suburbs of its capital were attacked by Georgian mortars.