Word: borderer
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...accusations against the other as the anniversary of last year's five-day war has approached in recent weeks; these soldiers, sent by Moscow to guard the breakaway republic of South Ossetia, are on the front line of that war of words. A tour of towns north of the border shows just dependent South Ossetians are on the Russians, and how much this small region, ostensibly independent, has actually become a de facto Russian province. (See pictures of the war in Georgia...
...present passports and undergo searches when they traveled through Eredvi on the way to the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali about six miles (9.7 km) away. "Maybe those idiots will start shooting again," he said, again motioning towards Georgia, "but that would be their last shot. Our side of the border is much stronger...
...what the soldiers might have to fight is hard to pin down. Although claims abound of cross-border grenade and mortar attacks, Bestayev, the Ossetian villager from Dmenisi, said he had not heard or seen any incidents at the base of the foothills that mark the border. The soldiers sitting by their armored personnel carrier make a vague claim they had had mortars fired on them a week ago, but that the shots were uphill and off the mark. A lieutenant who has served six years in the border guards said he had not seen any attacks with...
...South Ossetian government claims the uptick in cross-border shooting is real and dangerous. "Practically every day, unfortunately, the Georgians are shooting into South Ossetia," says Alan Pliyev, the first deputy minister of the South Ossetian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "They have been breaking the cease-fire organized by President Medvedev and French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the end of the war last year." Georgia has repeatedly denied shooting into South Ossetia and blames the Russian buildup for the rising tensions. (See pictures of the Russians in Ossetia...
...help to stabilize the situation here, Pliyev also says that his government is "working with and have an agreement with the Russian military for the defense of South Ossetia." In fact, observers from the European Union Monitoring Mission have been denied access to the South Ossetian side of the border to verify claims of attacks as well as to observe Russian troop increases. South Ossetia, nominally an independent state, is not going to make a move without Russia's consent. That's made clear by the 1,000 Russian troops bivouacked just outside the capital with more...