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The Battle for Upper Kodori
Abkhazia’s units have launched assault on upper Kodori Gorge, where the Georgian troops are stationed. Abkhazia will need a few days to gain control over the area, vowed Sergei Bagapsh, the president of unrecognized republic.
The conflict area in Caucasus has widened, and Tbilisi is forced to fight on two front lines. Sergei Bagapsh, president of Abkhazia, which is another breakaway republic of Georgia, declared the success of his troops in upper Kodori Tuesday.
“The operation in upper Kodori Gorge for forcing out the Georgian units develops successfully. Everything is up to the plan, our troops have entered upper Kodori Gorge,” Bagapsh told Interfax this morning. “We will take the region under complete control in a few days,” the president specified, pointing out that the assault is carried out by force of Abkhazian troops exclusively.
The strength of Georgian forces in Kodori was roughly 3,000, Abkhazia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba told Vesti 24 TV Channel. “But shelling and air attacks never stopped in the last few days, and it’s difficult to say, how many have remained there,” he said. The outpost of U.N. observers was stationed in upper Kodori, but they had been warned about the necessity to evacuate people before the start of offensive, the minister said.
It emerged on Tuesday that the hero of the Chechen war, General-Lieutenant Vladimir Shamanov took over the Russian military group of forces in Abkhazia. The Russians attributed reinforcement of Abkhazian troops to the need to avoid South Ossetia’s scenario.
An unnamed officer in Sukhumi told Interfax that, on Sunday, Russia moved in addition 9,000 servicemen and 350 armed vehicles and tanks to support peacekeepers in Abkhazia.
Georgia deployed troops to Kodori Gorge in July of 2006. In September of the same year, the portion of Kodori controlled by Georgia was declared Upper Abkhazia ruled by the exiled government of Abkhazia.
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