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The Ministry of the Interior  of Georgia issued on Monday a statement regarding the fighting that erupted on Sunday between local ethnic Georgians and ethnic Azerbaijanis in Dmanisi town. As Jam News reported, additional police forces have been called up in the city as the situation remains tense

“At this stage, the investigative measures carried out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs established that local residents in Dmanisi clashed with each other on domestic grounds, and the clashes later escalated into group violence,” the ministry said. The statement also says that the police have already identified the persons involved in the clashes.

The Interior Ministry says that police officers have been mobilized in the region to maintain public order and “in order to prevent a recurrence of the conflict and an artificial escalation of the situation”.

As the source reminded, the conflict between ethnic Azerbaijanis and eco-migrant settlers from the Svaneti region began with a dispute at one of the shops and escalated into a violent brawl between the two groups.

The footage of the fighting captured by surveillance cameras, was shared on media and online on May 16. The footage shows young people beating each other with sticks. The conflict continued the next day. The Palitranews agency reported that several people were injured as a result of another brawl, including one policeman, and paramedics were called to the scene.