Georgian Police Stop Military Convoy
July 07, 2004
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7 July 2004 -- Georgian police last night stopped a convoy with arms on board headed for Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia.
The Russian head of the interethnic peacekeeping contingent, Major General Svyatoslav Nabzdorov, said the shipment had been approved by the joint commission overseeing South Ossetia.
The commission includes Georgian, Russian, and South Ossetian representatives.
However, Georgian Interior Ministry troops spokesman Aleko Saluashvili denied approval had been given. Several of the trucks were let go, but Georgian police sent others to the Georgian city of Poti.
Saluashvili said that from there, they are to be sent to the capital, Tbilisi.
South Ossetia has run its own affairs -- without international recognition -- since it broke away from central government control in an 18-month war that ended in 1992.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has made reuniting his fractured country a top priority.
(AP/AFP)