Moscow, 29 April: Following the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers, the situation in zones adjacent to South Ossetia and Abkhazia remains unstable and explosive, a source in the Kremlin told Interfax on Wednesday (29 April).

"The massing of Georgian troops and police units is under way. Field camps and observation points are being set up. Heavy armour is being moved towards the border of South Ossetia," he said.

"A total of about 2,500 people from units of Georgian force structures are concentrated there. More than 50 stationary and mobile posts have been deployed. Active fortification work is under way. Armour and artillery are being moved to areas bordering South Ossetia," the Kremlin source said.

He said that a number of provocations and serious breaches of the security regime by the Georgian side had taken place over the past month, including the erection of fortifications along the borders of South Ossetia.

"Despite the presence of international observers from the EU, such provocations by the Georgian side are taking place with stubborn regularity," the source stressed.

According to him, there has been a sharp increase in crime in Georgia's Zugdidi District, which is adjacent to Abkhazia. "The intensification of the domestic political struggle in Georgia is fraught with the risk of provocations by Mikheil Saakashvili's regime and is complicating the situation," the Kremlin representative said.