TBILISI. May 7 (Interfax-AVN) - The Georgian Interior Ministry has sent extra police forces to the village of Kurta on the Georgian-South Ossetian border.
Deputy Interior Minister Zurab Khazhalia said at a parliamentary session on Wednesday that the police contingent will be increased from 47 to 80 officers, mostly local policemen.
He attributed this move to a surge in the number of crimes in Georgian villages located in South Ossetia, referring to last week's murder of four residents in one of these villages.
Khazhalia said this decision has already been made known to the South Ossetian authorities. "We have explained to them that policemen are not politicians. They are there only to crack down on criminals," the deputy interior minister said.
Law enforcement officials of Georgia and South Ossetia have already conducted a series of joint operations, and detained several dangerous criminals, who are nationals of both Georgia and South Ossetia.