Georgian president's plenipotentiary: UN observers to be liberated Friday evening

The Georgian president's plenipotentiary Emzar Kvitsiani asserts that the four kidnapped UN military observers will be liberated Friday evening.

According to his words, the authorities are aware of the whereabouts of the UN officials, who were kidnapped while patrolling the upper zone of Georgia's Kodori Gorge.

A group of cynologists is being dispatched to the Kodori Gorge to help the search effort, Kvitsiani told journalists.

In the meantime, the country's law enforcers have already identified the kidnappers as residents of the Kodori Gorge and the neighboring Republic of Abkhazia.

The four Russian peacekeepers, who accompanied the UN patrol, have been interrogated by the top brass of Russian peacekeepers stationed in Sukhumi. The top brass would not release the kidnapping details for fear of jeopardizing the case.

The UN mission to Georgia has reported the incident to the families of the three military observers, of whom two are from Germany and one from Denmark.