Conflicting Reports Prevail over Ongoing Kodori Operation

At least four persons have been reportedly injured as a result of ongoing, as officials put it, “police operation” in upper Kodori Gorge, where government forces are confronting the rebel paramilitary group Monadire, which is  led by former local official Emzar Kvitsiani.

The first reports of injuries emerged in the early hours of July 26, when ambulances came from Kodori to a hospital in Zugdidi in the Samegrelo region, south of Svaneti. The latter is high mountainous region of Georgia that served as the launcing point for Georgian troops entering into the troubled gorge in breakaway Abkhazia on July 25.

Information coming from Kodori remains extremely scarce and conflicting. Officials have declined to comment, saying only that the special operation is still ongoing. Phone communication with the gorge was cut and reporters are barred from entering the area for security reasons.

Meanwhile, Russian news agencies, citing Russian peacekeeping command in the Abkhaz conflict zone, reported that Georgia sent about 300 additional troops to Kodori Gorge. Estimates of the number of troops that were initially sent into the region range from 500 to 800.

An official report said late on July 25 that government forces disarmed a 60-member unit of the militia group. The report also notes that rebels blew up one of the bridges in the gorge.

Conflicting reports were circulating late on July 25 about the whereabouts of rebel warlord Emzar Kvitsiani. Rustavi 2 reported that he fled to the Abkhaz capital Sokhumi, but this has not been confirmed.

Rustavi 2 TV reported early on July 26 that a group of milita members from the North Caucasus appeared in the gorge to provide help to Kvitsiani’s militiamen, although no independent confirmation of this report is available.

News about a shootout in Kodori first broke at about 8 pm local time. Education Minister Kakha Lomaia confirmed later that “a police operation is underway with the aim to restore constitutional order” in upper Kodori Gorge, which is the only part of breakaway Abkhazia out of secessionist authorities’ control.

Influential lawmaker Givi Targamadze, who chairs the parliamentary committee for defense and security, said late on July 26 that order in Kodori will be restored “soon and effectively.”

Officials rule out the possibility that the ongoing police operation in Kodori will grow into a large-scale military confrontation.

Abkhaz sources reported late on July 25 that although “some shots” fired in upper Kodori were heard, no large-scale clashes took place in the troubled area.

Secessionist authorities warned that their troops are ready to repel Georgian forces if they enter into the Abkhaz-controlled territory in lower Kodori Gorge.

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