Georgia Denies Reports On "start Of Hostilities" In Kodor Gorge

Georgia denies reports on start of "hostilities" in the Kodor gorge in Abkhazia (a self-proclaimed republic on Georgia's territory), reports the RIA Novosti correspondent. Georgia's Minister at Large Malkhaz Kakabadze stressed that, according to his information, "shootouts indeed took place in the Kodor gorge on Wednesday, but no killed or wounded on either side have been reported". He did not rule out that the shootouts were "random" or are an outcome of whatever internal clearing out of relations between residents of the gorge. Georgian State Minister Gia Arsenishvili also told journalists that, having learnt what's up in the Kodor gorge, knowledgeable sources do not "yet confirm" the information on alleged start of hostilities there. Certain media bodies report that on Wednesday a group of "Chechen and Georgian militants" seized in Abkhazia the Georgievskoe village, populated by Greeks and Armenians. Victims of these hostilities are reported. On Thursday Dieter Boden, in charge of the United States' mission in Georgia, told reporters that on October 3 armed clashes resumed in the lower part of the Kodor gorge. He said that a group of armed men are still in the Kodor gorge and their "withdrawal is being delayed".