Reports say Eldar Kakhniashvili, who is a resident of the Georgian village of Kekhvi in the South Ossetian conflict zone, was kidnapped late on November 3.
Georgian villagers in the conflict zone blocked the road connecting the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali with Java, a town in northern South Ossetia, on November 4 and demanded the release of Kakhniashvili.
The Georgian side, as well as the media, reported that Kakhniashvili was kidnapped by South Ossetian militias; however, the South Ossetian side denied these accusations.
?At the moment, both, the Georgian and South Ossetian forces are engaged in search operations. But the Georgian side has hurried to blame the South Ossetian side for the incident,? reads a statement issued by the South Ossetian Press and Information Committee on November 4.
The South Ossetian side alleged that Tbilisi is trying to escalate tensions in the conflict zone on the eve of the upcoming talks between Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania and South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoev, scheduled for November 5 in the Russian town of Sochi.