Villagers in South Ossetia on war anniversary, checkpoint

(7 Aug 2009) SHOTLIST Near Kelchua 1. Wide of villages which are on the border between Georgia and South Ossetia 2. Mid of vehicles travelling near the border, destroyed buildings formally belonging to Georgian civilians 3. Various of destroyed buildings 4. Various of Russian soldiers manning check-point on road near border 5. Soldiers searching car Kelchua 6. Wide of house in South Ossetian village of Khelchua 7. Mid of old woman Etery Kisiyeva seated crying 8. Mid of Etery Kisiyeva entering room and taking up photo of her son, killed in the conflict 9. Close up of photo 10. Mid of Etery Kisiyeva and her daughter crying with the photo 11. SOUNDBITE: (Ossetian) Etery Kisiyeva, resident of Khelchua: "We lived here, and last year the terrible war came in our houses. My son died, my grandson was wounded, our house was destroyed, everything was destroyed. Our garden was uprooted by missiles, our cattle were killed". 12. Mid of damaged village house 13. Close up of damaged window 14. Mid of local resident, Anatoly Kisiyev showing bullet holes in wall of house 15. Cutaway chicken in garden 16. Kisiyev working on his property 17. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) Anatoly Kisiyev, resident of Khelchua: "I regained consciousness in Eret (near Khelchua), everything was in blood, they broke five teeth and then they took me to Gori, and there they took away my mobile telephone." 18. Wide of building destroyed 19. Mid of man passing by military vehicle STORYLINE Georgia and the Moscow-backed breakaway province of South Ossetia both marked the first anniversary of their conflict on Friday. The five-day war, with Russian troops and tanks backing South Ossetian forces, killed at least 390 people, displaced tens of thousands and left a legacy of animosity between leaders and fears among civilians that more fighting may erupt. South Ossetia, only recognised by Russia as independent, is cut off from the rest of Georgia by military checkpoints. Thousands of Russian troops are based in South Ossetia, supporting local forces widely alleged to have killed ethnic Georgian civilians, burned their houses and driven them at gunpoint from the region. On a road near to the village of Kelchua in South Ossetia, destroyed and burnt out buildings formally belonging to Georgian civilians remain untouched. Meanwhile, South Ossetians living in the village itself remain afraid that the conflict could restart at any time. Clutching a photograph of her son who she said was killed in the fighting, Etery Kisiyeva described the terrible scene in her village during the fighting. She said many villagers are still too scared to venture out of their homes, and often hear gunfire. Another resident, Anatoly Kisiyev alleged that he was knocked unconscious by Georgian soldiers last May and taken to Gori about 80 kilometres (50 miles) west of Tbilisi for questioning. He alleges that he was only released after the intervention of Russian officials who negotiated a prisoner exchange. A year later, the dispute over what started the war remains heated. Russia and South Ossetia contend it began with a thunderous Georgian artillery assault on Tskhinvali and that Moscow sent in troops to protect Russian peacekeeping forces and civilians; Georgia says it launched the barrage to try to repel Russian tanks and troops that had begun an invasion before dawn. South Ossetia alleges the attack on Tskhinvali was genocide. On Friday, South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity claimed Georgian forces massacred civilians on a road as they tried to escape the Tskhinvali attack. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...