Sokhumi Sets Up Abkhaz Administration in Kodori

Abkhaz leader Sergey Bagapsh appointed Sergey Jonua as his envoy in upper Kodori Gorge on September 3, the Abkhaz news agency Apsnipress reported.

Jonua will also serve as head of the administration, which will be based in Azhara, the main village in the gorge.

Jonua served as head of the breakaway region’s Department for Emergency Situations.

Meanwhile, officials in Tbilisi claimed earlier on September 3 that a close friend of Emzar Kvitsiani‘s, Zaza Gurchiani, had been appointed by the Abkhaz authorities as the head of the administration in upper Kodori Gorge.

The Abkhaz side took control of the upper Kodori Gorge, which had never previously been under their control, on August 12. No fighting took place, as Georgian armed units had withdrawn beforehand, according to UN observers.