22:00, 17 May 2004

Sukhumi anticipates provocations in Gali district

On the threshold of Georgia's Independence Day, celebrated on May 26, representatives of the Sukhumi government apprehend provocations in the Gali district of Abkhazia. It is under control of the Abkhazian side, 96% of the population being Georgians.

Defense minister of the breakaway republic of Abkhazia Vyacheslav Arshba and head of the Gali district administration Yury Kvekveskiri visited some villages in the district on May 16, reported sources in Zugdidi, Western Georgia.

Talking with people in the villages of Otobaya, Tagiloni, and Nabakevi, Eshba and Kvekveskiri reportedly called the recent transfer of an Abkhazian unit of about 350 people to the Gali district "a self-defense measure in view of an expected provocation from the Georgian side."

Editors note: See also the article "Abkhazian leaders fear of provocations".

Source: Novosti-Gruzia Information Agency