Two abducted in Abkhazia's Gal district

Two local residents were last week abducted in Abkhazia's Gal district bordering Georgia, the unrecognised republic's Internal Affairs Minister Otar Khetsia told Caucasian Knot's correspondent earlier today. The first abduction occurred in the morning on 6 January, according to him. Two strangers in masks, armed with automatic weapons, stopped a regular bus steered by Malkhaz Okudzhava, resident in Taglan. The criminals let the passengers go, took the driver and got away.

The bus was later found in a wood near Sida, Gal district. According to the information available to the Internal Affairs Ministry, the criminals demand a ransom of 50,000 Georgian laris (which is approximately US$25,000) from the Okudzhava family.

The second abduction occurred in Nabakevi on 9 January. Three unidentified criminals armed with automatic weapons broke into the house of Zaira Ekhvaya, resident in this village, and, threatening weapons, abducted her and her neighbour Bakuri Belkania, b. 1976, who was at her place at the moment. The criminals put them on a cart and got away. Mr Belkania was later allowed to go while still on their way. The kidnappers demand a ransom of US$25,000 from Ms Ekhvaya's relatives.

Abkhazia's Internal Affairs Minister says that both abductions were carried out by the same people and that this is done by Georgian special services to destabilise the situation in the unrecognised republic's Gal district.

• Family attacked in Abkhazia's Gal district