Six civilians and one Georgian policeman were injured as a result of shelling of Georgian villages in the South Ossetian conflict zone overnight on August 2, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) said in a statement.

The Georgian-controlled villages of Zemo Nikozi, Kvemo Nikozi, Nuli, Avnevi, Eredvi and Ergneti came under intense fire from the South Ossetian side, the Georgian MIA said. Over a dozen houses of local residents in the villages were also damaged as a result of the shelling, it said.

Meanwhile, the South Ossetian side said that six people were killed and about 15 injured as a result of intense shooting by the Georgian side directed towards Tskhinvali and nearby Ossetian villages late on August 1 and overnight on August 2.

Temur Iakobashvili, the Georgian state minister for reintegration, said on August 2 that the latest incident was “an obvious sign” that attempts were underway “to engage Georgia in a large-scale military conflict.”