Georgia Bids Farewell to 13 Abkhazia War Victims

Dozens gathered at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi on August 15 to honor the remains of 13 persons, who have been missing since the 1992-93 war in Abkhazia and whose bodies were recently transferred from the region.

Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia paid tribute to the victims together with other cabinet ministers, voiced his condolences to the families and expressed gratitude to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Prime Minister also thanked the ‘Abkhaz brothers’ for their assistance.

The remains reportedly include 8 military personnel and 5 civilians. Two of the soldiers have been laid to rest today at the Tbilisi’s Dighomi Cemetery with full military honors, while the other deceased have been entombed at the family cemeteries across the country.

Ministry of Reconciliation and Civic Equality of Georgia, which oversees occupied regions, reported on August 14 that together with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) they have identified the remains of 13 persons missing since the 1992-93 war in Abkhazia.

The identification was carried out within the framework of the coordination mechanism, established with the ICRC support in 2010 for the purpose of identifying the persons missing as a result of the armed conflicts.

The Georgian government dispatched troops to the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia in 1992 to protect the Abkhazia section of the Russian-Georgian railway. The government troops were forced to withdraw from the region in September 1993. Reportedly, more than 12,000 people died during the 13-month long armed conflict and around 300, 000 remain displaced.

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