TBILISI. Oct 7 (Interfax-AVN) - Criminals based in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge continue to oppress ethnic Ossetians living in the area, Interior Minister of the self-proclaimed South Ossetian Republic Murad Dzhioyev said on Monday.
"Regardless of the anti-criminal operation being held by the Interior Ministry, Ossetians living in Pankisi gorge continue to suffer oppression from criminals and armed Chechens," Dzhioyev told Interfax-Military News Agency.
"South Ossetian authorities continue getting appeals from Ossetian residents living in the Pankisi gorge, who ask us to assist them in resettlement, because their houses are taken by force, including by alien Chechens," he said.
"Since the arrival of Chechen residents in the Pankisi gorge and deterioration of the criminal situation, entire villages populated by Ossetians have been abandoned there," the minister stressed.
According to the South Ossetian Interior Ministry, some 1,700 Ossetian houses were originally located in the gorge. "Several dozen Ossetian families have moved from the Pankisi gorge to South Ossetia and settled in Tskhinvali and in nearby villages," Dzhioyev noted.
"South Ossetian authorities have sent numerous appeals to the Georgian administration and to various international organizations, including the Council of Europe, asking them to ensure security of Ossetians residing in the Pankisi gorge, for they have no protection against guerillas," the minister concluded.