Months after the fighting stopped, the Georgian village of Perevi was still occupied by Russian forces. But when they pulled back, a few days ago, the locals had little time for jubilation, BBC reported.
It was armed militia from South Ossetia - not the Georgian authorities - who took over.
Three months after the conflict ended, Russian troops have largely pulled back to the areas they occupied previously. That was part of the agreement brokered by the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, in September.
But there are still certain areas in dispute.
One of the disputed villages is Perevi, which on the map is on the Georgian side of the border. It sits in the forested foothills in the shadow of the jagged, snow-capped mountains of the Caucasus.
Russian news agencies have quoted South Ossetia's separatist leader, Eduard Kokoity, as insisting that part of the village is located in South Ossetia - and that his forces entered it legitimately.
Local residents - all of whom are ethnically Georgian - say the situation is tense. And you get that feeling in the nearby villages.