The conflict between Georgia and its rebel region intensified on August 1-2 after South Ossetian authorities accused Georgian forces of shelling Tskhinvali, leaving six people dead and 15 injured. Georgia blamed the separatists for provoking armed clashes along the de facto border.
Zamira Dzhioyeva said the evacuation of women and children, which started Saturday morning, had been suspended: "...we have taken a break. We need to know exactly, how many people are due to leave to arrange the buses. Our officials are calculating those who have not left yet."
So far, around 1,000 children and their parents have been evacuated, the minister said. According to peacekeepers, some 2,500 people have been evacuated.
Last night, Georgia allegedly shelled South Ossetian police posts in Ubiat and Mugut, the republic's state information and press committee said on Tuesday. No casualties have been reported and South Ossetia said they did not return fire.
However, the Georgian Interior Ministry accused South Ossetia of attacking a Georgian police outpost in the conflict zone.
"South Ossetian separatists fired at the village of Nuli three times using a grenade launcher from the village of Ubiat. Two shells hit the police post, and one exploded in front of it," the Georgian Interior Ministry said.
And as tensions in the region escalated, support for South Ossetia has been pouring in from neighboring North Ossetia.
Over a thousand South Ossetian supporters held a meeting in a central square in Vladikavkaz, the capital of Russia's republic of North Ossetia, on August 3. Alexei Voznevoi, leader of the Vladikavkaz Cossack Community, said that up to 200 volunteers were ready to protect South Ossetia if required.
"If necessary we are ready to give practical assistance" against Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's "criminal group" within twenty four hours, Voznevoi said.
The latest unconfirmed reports quoted Taimuraz Kasayev, nationality minister of North Ossetia, as saying that volunteers from southern Russia had started arriving in South Ossetia.
And South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity said on Monday a number of North Caucasus republics have pledged assistance to Tskhinvali if war breaks out with Georgia. Kokoity said at least 300 North Ossetians had already arrived in the breakaway region, with up to 2,000 expected.
South Ossetia declared its independence from Georgia following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Hundreds died in the bloody conflict that followed.
Russia has stepped up its support for South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another breakaway Georgian republic, in recent months, angering Georgia's pro-Western leadership, which has pledged to bring the regions back under central control.
