EU Monitors Enter Georgia Buffer Zone
By VOA News
01 October 2008
Russian troops have allowed EU monitors to enter a buffer zone around a breakaway Georgian region despite earlier saying they would be prevented from visiting the area.
More than 200 European Union peace monitors began their mission Wednesday, as called for in a French-brokered cease-fire between Russia and Georgia.
Tuesday, Russia said it would bar the monitors from entering the Russian-declared buffer zones around Abkhazia and South Ossetia. But reports from the area today say monitors were allowed into the area around South Ossetia after being stopped briefly at a Russian checkpoint.
The cease-fire pact requires Russian forces to be completely out of the buffer zones by October 10. EU officials say the peace monitors should have access to all of Georgia.
Russian tanks and thousands of troops poured into Georgia in August after Georgia tried to retake control of South Ossetia by force.
Russia has since recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent, angering the United States and European Union.
Meanwhile, the human rights group Amnesty International says unexploded shells, looting, and ethnically-motivated violence are preventing ethnic Georgians from returning to their homes in South Ossetia.
Amnesty International is calling on Russian, Georgian, and South Ossetian authorities to guarantee the safety of displaced people trying to return home. It also asks all sides to disclose information about munitions used in the fighting so unexploded bombs can be cleared.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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