Aggravation Of Situation In Abkhazia Did Not Affect Activities Of Russian Border-guards In North Caucasus

The aggravation of situation in Abkhazia (a self-proclaimed republic on the Georgian territory) did not affect activities of the Russian border-guards in the North Caucasus who have reinforced the guard of Russia's state border in certain areas. Officials in the Federal Frontier Service North Caucasian Regional Department said Wednesday in an interview with RIA Novosti that border guards on the Sochi checkpoint were doing their daily routine. No increase in the number of attempts to cross the border from either side has been registered. According to the press-service, no substantial changes have taken place on other sections of the Russian-Georgian border. Checkpoints are functioning uninterruptedly everywhere. At the same time, the guard of the border has been reinforced in the mountains of Karachayevo-Cherkessia and Kabardino-Balkaria (republics within the Russian Federation). Airstrikes were performed at several villages in the Kodor gorge in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict area. The Abkhazian side claims that Georgian aircraft carried out the strikes, but Tbilisi officials deny that. Earlier, gunmen hit a UN helicopter in the Gulripsh district in the conflict area.