Tskhinvali Hosts ‘All-Ossetian Assembly’

Over 500 ethnic Ossetians from at least 11 countries will gather in the breakaway South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali on September 18-19 at an All-Ossetian Assembly, the South Ossetian Press and Information Committee reported on Monday.

“Apart from Russia, guests from Morocco, Brazil, the United States, Canada, France, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, Abkhazia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, China and Estonia are also expected to arrive,” it said.

The assembly is a high-profile event for the South Ossetian secessionist authorities, as it will be used to demonstrate what they call broad-based support among ethnic Ossetians. The forum comes ahead of Independence Day, which will be marked by the breakaway region on September 20.

It also comes at a time of intense rivalry with the Tbilisi-backed South Ossetian provisional administration. Ossetians living in different parts of Georgia gathered on July 22 in the Georgian-administered village of Tamarasheni and expressed support for the provisional administration, led by Dimitri Sanakoev.

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