Georgian Border Guards Replacing Defense Ministry Troops in Kodori

Georgian Defense Ministry’s troops are withdrawing from upper Kodori gorge, the only part of breakaway Abkhazia controlled by the Georgian government.

Defense Ministry’s official representative Mirian Kiknadze told Civil Georgia on April 9 that Border Guard units are replacing regular army.

According to the April 2 protocol Georgian Defense Ministry is to pull out its units from troubled Kodori gorge till April 10.

In return Abkhazian side should pull out its heavy armament from Tkvarcheli district and lower part of Kodori.

Mirian Kiknadze could not specify whether the army units would be withdrawn by the deadline [April 10].

Defense Ministry official says that process of withdrawal of armed forces from Kodori and dispatching there border guards is passing simultaneously, thus the security of local Georgian population is guaranteed.

Observers from UN Mission to Georgia, together with the Russian peacekeepers launched monitoring of Kodori gorge on April 8 to observe how the provisions of April 2 protocol are implemented.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian)