All highway traffic in the area was stopped and South Ossetian villages under Georgian control were blockaded for security reasons Friday by order of the president of the unrecognized republic as Russian peacekeepers in the conflict zone were put on alert.
Eduard Kokoity's decision was a protest against the introduction of a temporary administrative unit in the Tskhinvali Region and the appointment of Dmitry Sanakoyev, who is in charge of the Georgian administration in South Ossetia, as its head.
Kokoity promised to maintain the blockade of Georgian villages until the temporary administration was abolished.
A monitoring group plans to consider the situation in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict area later Tuesday.
South Ossetia declared independence from Georgia following a bloody conflict that killed hundreds in 1991-1992. The pro-Western Georgian government of Mikheil Saakashvili said it was determined to bring the breakaway region back under its control.
