16 Georgian arrested in South Ossetia

Authorities in the former Georgian region of South Ossetia say they have arrested sixteen Georgian people over illegal entry into their territory.

South Ossetian officials said on Monday that the men had been detained by Russian guards for crossing and "carrying out illegal deforestation" on the territory.

"The detained Georgian citizens have been handed over to regional prosecutors," Merab Chigoyev, an aide to South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity, said in an online statement.

Georgian Interior Ministry condemned the move, saying the men were collecting firewood when they were 'kidnapped' by Russian forces.

The European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia expressed concern over the incident, which could re-ignite old tensions between Georgia and Russia regarding the two independence-seeking regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

"EUMM urges all parties to discuss and settle the matter," the mission, which has about 225 monitors in Georgia, urged in a statement.

In August 2008, Russia resorted to a military action to parry a massive Georgian offensive after Tbilisi attacked South Ossetia in a bid to retake its former province, which declared independence in the early 1990s. Russian forces advanced deep into the Georgian soil before they withdrew under a European-brokered peace deal.

Later, an EU-commissioned report found Georgia responsible for inciting the last year's war with Russia over the independence-seeking South Ossetia.

Thousands of Russian troops are stationed in South Ossetia and Abkhazia to help local security forces protect the regions against Georgian aggression.

Russia has recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.