Skirmish in Abkhazia's Gali district

An armed incident occurred in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict, in the village of Saberio, Abkhazia's Gali district, in the morning of June 14. Several people were wounded in the clash, according to preliminary reports. These reports are rather discrepant though.

Sources in the conflict zone reported that a skirmish between members of an Abkhazian armed unit and Russian peacekeepers left a member of the Abkhazian group, a certain Dzidzaria, badly wounded and the Russian peacekeeper whose family name is Stupnik wounded.

Tengiz Dzadzua, chief of the Gali district criminal police acting on the Georgian side, told journalists that a quarrel between a Russian peacekeeper and three gunmen of Abkhazian nationality took place in the village of Saberio. "A skirmish occurred, which left the Russian soldier dead and two Abkhazian militants wounded," Mr Dzadzua said.

At the same time, as Novosti-Georgia was told in the security service of Georgia's Zugdidi district bordering on the Gali district, two officers of the so call "Abkhazian customs service" were wounded in a skirmish at daybreak on June 14. A quarrel was reported to be a reason for the incident.