EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM) said its patrols on the ground “have seen no evidence to confirm that any firing has taken place towards Tskhinvali or its surroundings.”

The South Ossetian side and Russia have accused the Georgian side of firing two mortar rounds in direction of the South Ossetian military observation post on August 1. The South Ossetian side claimed that mortars were fired from the village of Ditsi about four kilometers in south-east from Tskhinvali.

A spokesman for EUMM told Civil.Ge earlier on August 1 that although no shooting was confirmed, four explosions took place on the South Ossetian side of the administrative border, but causes were not known.

“In order to make a more complete assessment of the situation on the ground, the EUMM needs to have access to the areas controlled by the de facto South Ossetian authorities where the incidents are purported to have taken place,” EUMM said in a statement.

It also said that it was “seriously concerned about the escalation of accusations of alleged incidents.”

“EUMM once again urges all sides to exercise extreme restraint in words and actions at this particularly sensitive time” as the anniversary of the August war approaches, the monitoring mission said.