Russian troops in breakaway South Ossetia are conducting, what they call, “border demarcation” and in the process grabbing plots of land on the Georgian-controlled territories, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) said in a statement on September 29.

“Russian occupational forces started to seize additional territory and move forward the line of occupation in Shida Kartli region,” it said.

“Russian FSB [Federal Security Service] troops are conducting illegal ‘border demarcation works’ by putting steel poles in villages [of] Kvemo Nikozi, Zemo Nikozi, Ditsi, Arbo and Kordi.”

The Interior Ministry said that 25 hectares of farmland was occupied by the Russian troops in Kvemo Nikozi, south from Tskhinvali.

It also said that houses of three local families, as well as pastures, irrigation canal and a water well “have been placed on the other side of the illegal ‘demarcation line’” in the village of Ditsi; 5 hectares of farmland in the village of Arbo and half hectare of land in the village of Kordi have also been grabbed, according to the Interior Ministry.

A spokesperson of EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM) told Civil.ge that situation on the ground was “calm and quiet”. The spokesperson also said the mission was not able at this stage to report on details as EUMM monitors were currently “looking into the situation”.