North Ossetia does not rule out state of emergency due to large influx of traffic to Georgia

The authorities of the Russian region of North Ossetia have recognized on Tuesday that the traffic on the roads to Georgia is higher than expected, so it does not rule out declaring a state of emergency, while Russian citizens continue trying to leave the country after the mobilization announced by Vladimir Putin, in the framework of the war declared against Ukraine.

“There is too much influx and no one expected such an influx. We cannot do anything there at the legislative level, we cannot close the passage to the republic either,” explained the president of the republic of North Ossetia, Sergei Meniailo, reports the Russian news agency Interfax.

“Over the past 24 hours, about 12,500 people have crossed the border through the Upper Lars checkpoint. Of these, about 10,000 went to leave Russia,” Meniailo said, who said that the most likely solution to manage the situation is to decree “a partial state of emergency.”

Meniailo also promised to set up a temporary accommodation center next to the checkpoint to accommodate those families queuing to cross the border, while the services of the Ministry of Emergency Situations have already been mobilized.

Earlier, local authorities have announced that border crossing on foot would be allowed due to the “considerable increase” of light vehicle traffic heading to Georgia in an attempt to “reduce the risks of illegal behaviors and the occurrence of conflict situations.”

On Monday, North Ossetian Deputy Prime Minister Irbek Tomaev told that about 3,500 cars and 1,300 trucks were queuing up to enter Georgia, whose authorities have stated that there is no reason to close the passage to Russian citizens.