Georgia Responds to Abkhazia's Threat

Tensions have drastically escalated in the breakaway republic of Abkhazia since last Thursday. A group of Abkhazian saboteurs penetrated the Georgian controlled territory near the Upper Kodori Gorge (Upper Abkhazia) and attacked workers who were building a road connecting the gorge with Svaneti. The terrorist group opened fire on the forces of the Georgian Interior Ministry who were guarding the road construction. Georgian security responded to the attackers with fire-- killing two Abkhazian intruders, wounding four, and capturing six.

"An illegally armed unit, controlled by Abkhazian authorities, entered the territory controlled by Georgia-- which in fact controls the road which connects the upper Abkhazian Kodori Gorge with the rest of Georgia. The clear objective of that unit was to take control of that part of road and to attack," said David Bakradze, Georgian Minister on Conflict Resolution Issues. [More]

Tbilisi urges Abkhazia to drop bellicose rhetoric

Tbilisi and Sukhumi again traded accusations over the situation in the Kodori Gorge. Georgian Minister for Separatist Conflicts David Bakradze (pictured) on Friday urged the Abkhazian authorities to refrain from threats against the official Tbilisi.

They should think well before making threatening statements.... From the military point of view these threats are not serious, and from the political one -- an attempt to aggravate the situation and prevent the process of a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

Bakradze expressed the hope that the international community, including the United Nations, would give an evaluation to such statements by the authorities of the self-proclaimed republic.

The latest wave of mutual accusations was set off by the opening of the NATO information center in Georgia, in the upper part of the Kodori Gorge on July 26. [More]