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South Ossetia to close border with Georgia to commemorate August 8 victims

Overnight to August 8, 2008, Georgia attacked the breakaway region of South Ossetia

MOSCOW, August 6. /TASS/. South Ossetia will shut down its border with Georgia until August 9 due to days of mourning, the republic’s State Security Committee told TASS.

"The republican State Security Committee informs that due to commemorations timed to coincide with the ninth anniversary of the Georgian aggression, operation of the checkpoints on the border of South Ossetia and Georgia is planned to be provisionally suspended," the official said.

The checkpoints will resume operation at 7.00 a.m. Moscow Time (5.00 a.m. BST) on August 9, 2017.

Overnight to August 8, 2008, Georgia attacked the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Moscow stood up to defend civilians and Russian peacekeepers who had been deployed in the region since 1992. As a result of the five-day war more than one thousand people were killed, 72 Russian military personnel among them. On August 26, 2008, Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia.

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Georgia South Ossetia

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