"The Government of Georgia believes that this incident is a criminal and brutal act which escalates tensions in the areas adjacent to Georgia's occupied regions.

This incident and the on-going detentions illustrate that the Russian Federation and its proxies continue to pursue a policy aimed at destabilizing and terrorizing the local population.

The Government of Georgia insists that responsibility for the incident, as well as the fate of the detained persons, rests with the Russian Federation, as an occupying state" , - the statement reads.

Two Georgian citizens were shot and injured yesterday, one gravely, when occupation forces from Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia opened fire on them. The incident occurred at about 8 a.m. as five young men from the Chalvani village were collecting edible plants in the Chonto valley, Sachkhere District, near the occupation line. Occupation forces attempted to detain them, but the men (ages 17, 21, 22, 26 and 27) managed to escape. As they did, occupants opened fire, wounding two citizens, including a 17-year-old pupil from a local school who remains hospitalized in a grave condition.