Blast near Russia base in South Ossetia kills six

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Conflict is still alive. File Photo: EFE

Six people were killed and four wounded when a car filled with explosives blew up near a Russian peacekeepers' base in Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia on Friday, the separatists said.

The car had been parked next to the wall of the Russian base in the regional capital Tskhinvali, according to a statement on the South Ossetian website www.cominf.org.

The vehicle had earlier been confiscated from the Georgian-populated village of Disevi for illegally transporting weapons, the statement said. Months of skirmishes between separatists and Georgian troops erupted into war in August when Georgia sent troops and tanks to retake the pro-Russian rebel region of South Ossetia, which threw off Tbilisi's rule in 1991-92.

Russia responded with a powerful counter-strike that drove the Georgian army out of South Ossetia. Moscow's troops then pushed further into Georgia, saying they needed to prevent further Georgian attacks.

The West has condemned Russia for a "disproportionate response" to Georgia's actions and has repeatedly demanded that Moscow pull its troops out of core Georgia. European Union monitors have now entered a Russian-controlled buffer zone around South Ossetia to begin a peacekeeping operation.

Russia says confiscating illegal weapons and explosives was part of the work carried out by its troops. A Russian Defence ministry spokesman confirmed the blast, but could not give any further details. "We are checking the information," he said.

It was not immediately clear whether those killed and injured by the blast were civilians or Russian military. Russia has deployed peacekeepers at the base since the early 1990s.

South Ossetian Leader Eduard Kokoity was fast to blame Georgian security services for the blast, Russia's Itar-Tass news agency reported.