On September 11, 2006, the South Ossetian Information and Press Committee announced that the republic would hold an independence referendum[REF] (the first referendum had not been recognized by the international community as valid in 1992)[REF] on 12 November 2006.
Ethnic Ossetians and Russians living in South Ossetia nearly unanimously approved a referendum on 12 November 2006 opting for independence from Georgia.