Tskhinvali Leader Dismisses Government

Anatoly Bibilov, Moscow-backed leader of Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia dismissed his government late on August 28, according to Alan Tadtaev, speaker of the occupied region’s parliament.

Tskhinvali based RES news agency reported that Bibilov’s decision comes in response to the protests over the death of Inal Jabiev, a 28-year-old man detained earlier on charges of attempted murder of the occupied region’s interior minister Igor Naniev.

Bibilov’s decision was preceded by a resignation notice of Erik Pukhaev, “prime minister” of the Kremlin-backed region.

Jabiev reportedly succumbed to his injuries in Tskinvali’s hospital after being transferred from the temporary detention facility where he was being held.

“The prosecutor’s office” in Tskhinvali said the young man was hospitalized in an unconscious state, with bodily injuries. According to the reports, Jabiev never regained his consciousness.

Jabiev’s death sparked hundreds of people, including South Ossetian ‘lawmakers’ and ‘heads of various departments,’ to hit the streets earlier on Friday, demanding an immediate investigation, dismissal of the entire “government”, and an extraordinary parliamentary session.

The protesters at Tskhinvali’s central square was addressed by Bibilov, who announced the ousting of Naniev. Bibilov said that criminal case into the death of Jabiev had been initiated and promised to hold the perpetrators accountable.

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