Political processes in Georgia contribute to worsening of situation in Georgian-Abkhazian conflict zone

Participants in the quadripartite Georgian-Abkhazian meeting held at the Ingur check-point on December 18 described a situation in the border districts as "the one tending to worsen".

According to the Gali district administration head, Ruslan Kishmariya, the worsening of the criminogenic situation in the Gali district is connected not only with the beginning of the "mandarin" season, but with political processes in neighboring Georgia, as a result of which top-rank officials in the Zugdidi district administration and police have completely changed. "Another important thing is that the new Georgian Interior Minister gave a command to disarm armed units of "forest brothers", which would entail their displacement to the Gali district of Abkhazia and undoubtedly destabilize the situation in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict," said Ruslan Kishmariya. The prosecutor of Georgia's Zugdidi district, Mebrdzol Chkadua, suggested arranging a meeting on December 23 between heads of security agencies of Abkhazia's Gali, Ochamchira, and Tkuarchal districts and police chiefs of Georgia's Zugdidi and Tsalendjikha districts.