By Helena Bedwell

Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze said the separatist region of South Ossetia is building a fence to seal off Georgian villages along the border.

“This plan is a clear violation of the cease-fire agreement and further isolates the occupied territory,” Vashadze said today in a statement posted on the ministry’s Web site. South Ossetia and Russia are blocking international observers from entering the region to “cover up crimes” committed since Georgia’s five-day war with Russia in August.

South Ossetian government spokeswoman Irina Gagloyeva wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Russia routed Georgia’s army in the conflict over South Ossetia, and later recognized the region’s independence along with that of breakaway Abkhazia, a move condemned by the U.S. and many European countries. The European Union brokered a cease-fire agreement.

Earlier today, South Ossetian officials said Georgian forces had fired two rocket-propelled grenades that landed near a kindergarten in an Ossetian village. The rounds didn’t detonate, and no one was injured, according to a statement on the South Ossetian government’s Web site.

Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili dismissed the South Ossetian claim as “nonsense” aimed at stoking tensions in the region.

Russian Deserter

Vashadze said the fence is probably also aimed at stopping Russian troops from deserting and fleeing to Georgia. On Jan. 27, a Russian soldier named Alexander Glukhov deserted from his unit in South Ossetia and sought asylum in Georgia, citing unbearable living conditions.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said at the time that Glukhov had been “seized by Georgian agents” and “taken to Tbilisi.” Glukhov denied this claim.

Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Khizanishvili said Russian officials had prevented Glukhov’s mother from traveling to Georgia to visit her son, and that she’s stuck in South Ossetia.

“Glukhov won’t travel to Tskhinvali. It’s too dangerous,” Khizanishvili said. “He has called on international organizations to help his mother cross the border and come to Georgia.”

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