Chief of Adjarian Paramilitary Group Defies Abashidze

Aleksander Davitadze, who led one of the paramilitary groups in Adjarian Autonomy, arrived on May 1 in Tbilisi and said that he refused to obey Adjarian leader Aslan Abashidze. President Mikheil Saakashvili met Davitadze and thanked him for his decision. 

Davitadze, a controversial figure, who according to the Georgian media was allegedly involved in criminal activities in Adjara, told President Saakashvili that more members of the Adjarian paramilitary forces are ready to defy Aslan Abashidze.

Anzor Dumbadze, Deputy Interior Minister and Chief of the Ecological Police of Adjarian Autonym, also left Batumi and arrived in Tbilisi on May 1 and expressed loyalty to the Georgian central authorities.