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EU Mission Intensifies Patrols In Georgia

September 23, 2009

TBILISI -- The European Union's monitoring mission in Georgia (EUMM) is intensifying its patrols in Georgia proper bordering the breakaway Georgian territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.

EUMM head Hansjoerg Haber told RFE/RL that the patrol reinforcement is related to the upcoming publication of a report by an international commission headed by Swiss diplomat Heidi Tagliavini on the origins, course, and results of the five-day Russian-Georgian war in 2008.

According to EUobserver.com, Haber told journalists in Brussels that the additional patrols are purely a preventative measure.

Georgian opposition members say that the report -- which is due sometime next week -- may worsen the situation in the conflict zone if it finds that Georgian authorities started the war and could lead to new demonstrations against Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/EU_Mission_Intensifies_Patrols_In_Georgia/1829248.html

Copyright (c) 2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.