New war looms in Caucasus

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, OCT. 9. A new hotbed of war is emerging in the Caucasus, with Russia and Georgia accusing each other of provoking fighting in a breakaway Georgian province.

The Government of Abkhazia, a Georgian autonomy which declared independence seven years ago, ordered total mobilisation on Tuesday to fight an estimated 500 Georgian and Chechen rebels who had intruded a mountain gorge in Abkhazia last week. Tension in the region is fast escalating, with a helicopter carrying five U.N. observers shot down by a missile on Monday and unidentified planes bombing several Abkhaz villages on Tuesday. Abkhazia blamed Georgia for the bombing, while Georgian officials suggested the planes had come from Russia. Georgian authorities also claimed that unidentified helicopters and planes had bombed Georgian villages near the border.

Russia's reaction was very angry. ``It is now abundantly clear that either Georgia's leadership does not control the situation on its territory or is manipulating terrorists in its own interests,'' Russia's Defence Minister, Mr. Sergei Ivanov, said on Tuesday in televised remarks.

Russia has repeatedly accused Georgia of harbouring Chechen guerillas on its territory. A group of Chechen rebels led by Field Commander Ruslan Gelayev, is reported to have joined hands with Georgian militants who have been fighting Abkhaz separatists.

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Section  : International
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