(Tbilisi. May 6, 2003. Civil Georgia) – As the media reports, Nicholas Sarkozy, head of the French Interior Ministry said at today’s summit of the G8 interior ministers that Al-Qaeda centers could have moved from Afghanistan “towards Chechnya and Georgia”.
“Threat of terrorism remains high and we should not ease measures of precaution” – he said.
The minister also said that Al-Qaeda network is “very disorganized, particularly after the Afghan campaign and its operative centers have apparently moved, perhaps towards Chechnya and Georgia”.
As the Georgian authorities report, after the last year’s anti-criminal operation in Pankisi, approximately 700 Chechen fighters and 100 Arab mercenaries have fled from the gorge. Persons, linked with Al-Qaeda could have been among them as well. Currently Pankisi is fully controlled by the Georgian side. As the members of delegation of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly said after their recent visit to Pankisi, situation in the gorge is safe.
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