Merabishvili: ‘Ataka’ Guided Missiles Used in Kodori Shelling

Russian-made, radar-operated Ataka guided missiles were used by army helicopters during shelling of the Tbilisi-controlled upper Kodori Gorge on March 11, Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili said.

He said in an interview with Rustavi 2 TV, aired on April 1, that fragments of Ataka missiles, which were produced in 2005 and which are available to the Russian army, have been found by investigators in the gorge.

The day after the reported shelling, on March 12, the Interior Minister briefed the National Security Council that at least three MI-24 helicopters, which had entered into Georgian airspace from the Russian Federation, “fired at least 20 unguided missiles in the direction of the administrative and police buildings in the gorge.”

A joint group, consisting of UN observers, Russian peacekeepers, as well as representatives from the Georgian and Abkhaz sides, paid two fact-finding visits to the gorge to investigate the reported shelling; but no final conclusions have been unveiled as yet.

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