Deputy Minister: Russian Helicopters Shelled Villages in Kodori

Russian army helicopters entered into the Georgian airspace over the upper Kodori Gorge from the Russian Federation and shelled villages there, Levan Nikoleishvili, the Georgian Deputy Defense Minister, said at a news conference on March 12.

?I can not comment on further details at this stage,? he added.

The villages of Chkhalta, Gentsvisi and Azhara in the Tbilisi-controlled upper Kodori Gorge in breakaway Abkhazia came under fire late on March 11, causing no casualties, the Georgian officials said early on Monday.

Head of the Tbilisi-backed Abkhaz government-in-exile Malkhaz Akishbaia said that GRAD rockets were shot in the direction of Azhara village from the Abkhaz-controlled Tkvarcheli district.

Russia has already strongly denied the Georgian officials’ allegations, calling them a provocation.

?The statements made by the Georgian authorities about shelling in the villages of Chkhalta, Azhara and Gentsvisi in the Upper Kodori Gorge by a helicopter, which allegedly entered [into the Georgian airspace] from Russian territory, is nothing but a provocation,? RIA Novosti news agency quoted Spokesman for the Russian Air Forces Col. Alexander Drobishevsky as saying on March 12.

The Abkhaz side has also strongly denied having any connection with the incident.

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