Two Abkhaz militiamen were killed, at least one injured and at least six others captured by Georgian forces after a clash on September 20, both the Georgian and Abkhaz sides have confirmed.
Initial reports, however, suggested that only two Abkhaz militiamen had been injured.
Even now, the actual location of the clash remains a point of contention between both sides. Tbilisi claims its Interior Ministry forces repelled “an attack” on Georgian-controlled upper Kodori Gorge, while Sokhumi says that Georgian forces attacked an Abkhaz border guard training camp in the Tkvarcheli district.
“An attack was carried out close to a major road in Kodori Gorge which is currently under construction,” the Georgian Interior Ministry said in a statement. “The armed clash occurred between a group of saboteurs and the [Georgian] unit guarding the road… We consider this incident yet another attempted attack on Kodori Gorge.”
Vano Merabishvili, the Georgian interior minister, who departed for upper Kodori Gorge on September 20, told reporters that “a group of saboteurs” infiltrated the gorge from the Abkhaz-controlled Tkvarcheli district three days ago.
“Our special purpose unit discovered the group close to [the village of] Idliani,” Merabishvili said. “The unit pursued the group and liquidated it.”
He also said the group consisted of “at least 16 men and some of them escaped back to the Tkvarcheli district.” “It was a very successful operation from our unit’s perspective,” Merabishvili added.
Sergey Bagapsh, the Abkhaz leader, however, said the unrecognized republic’s forces were attacked. He cut short a visit to the Russian Black Sea town of Sochi, where he had been attending an international investment forum, and returned to Abkhazia after the incident to convene an emergency session of the security council.
According to the Abkhaz side, the incident took place deep in Abkhaz-controlled territory, at least 10 kilometers from the road under construction in the upper Kodori Gorge.
Sergey Shamba, the foreign minister of the breakaway region, said Georgian forces attacked an Abkhaz border guard training camp in Tkvarcheli district at about 11:00 a.m. local time on September 20.
Bagapsh said that he had requested that UN observers and Russian peacekeepers carry out a monitoring operation of the incident site.
Merabishvili, however, has rejected the Abkhaz version of events. “We have,” he said, “solid evidence to confirm that it was an attack from the Abkhaz side.”
Davit Bakradze, the Georgian state minister for conflict resolution issues, said the Georgian side, despite the latest flare-up, remained committed to solving the conflicts solely through peaceful means.
“But we are not going to turn a blind eye to provocations of this kind,” he warned. “We will respond appropriately to provocations.”
He also called on the Abkhaz side “to stop playing with fire.” Bakradze said that the September 20 incident was a result of recent “aggressive [Abkhaz] rhetoric.”
Bagapsh said on August 23 that upper Kodori Gorge was Abkhazia’s territory and no one should doubt Sokhumi would reclaim it.