Russia forming task unit for tougher security on its border with Georgia

The situation on Russia's southern frontiers saw no dramatic change Sunday. Russian frontier guards continue to keep a watchful eye on areas along the Chechen border with Georgia. They are now forming a task force to enhance security in those areas and prevent cross-border incursions of gunmen into Chechnya, reports Sergei Livantsov, spokesman for the North-Caucasian command of the Federal Frontier Service, known by its Russian acronym, FPS.

According to Livantsov, a reconnaissance unit operating near the city of Nazran, in the southern Russian republic of Ingushetia, discovered a fully loaded anti-tank rocket launcher during yesterday's raid across the mountains. They destroyed the find on the spot, but failed to track down its owners.

Some 10,000 people passed through border checkpoints into and out of southern Russia on Sunday, the FPS spokesman said. Over fifty individuals were detained for failure to produce IDs and other relevant papers, he added.