Abkhazia claims to shoot down two unmanned Georgian planes
SUKHUMI, Georgia -- The separatist Georgian republic of Abkhazia said Monday it had shot down two unmanned Georgian spy planes over its territory -- the latest in a series of such claims denied by the Georgian government.
Georgia acknowledges that one pilotless reconnaissance plane was shot down over Abkhazia last month. But it contends the drone was taken out by a Russian warplane, not Abkhazian forces.
Since then, Abkhazia has claimed to have shot down at least five other such planes.
The claims come amid a sharp escalation of tension over the region, which has had de-facto independence from Georgia since the end of a mid-1990s separatist war. NATO, the western military alliance, has said it will eventually grant membership to Georgia. But Russia sees Georgia as part of its historical sphere of influence.
Abkhazia alleges Georgia is preparing to try to retake the region by force. It claims there has been a significant increase in Georgian forces in the upper Kodori Gorge region, the only section of Abkhazia under Georgian control.
In response to Abkhazia's claims of Georgian aggression, Russia has increased its number of peacekeeping troops in Abkhazia.
Georgian officials interpret that increase as veiled aggression, saying the peacekeepers support Abkhazia's separatists.
On Monday, Abkhazian separatist foreign minister Sergei Shamba said a pilotless drone was shot down over the Gali district, near the southern administrative border with Georgia, in the afternoon. About an hour later, the presidential envoy to the district, Ruslan Kishmaria, said a second plane had been downed.
Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili denied both claims.
Russia does not formally recognize the government of Abkhazia, but it has granted Russian passports to most of the territory's residents. And it called last month for closer ties with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, another separatist Georgian republic.
The tensions have sparked concern in the West, which wants to integrate Georgia more closely into Europe but also seeks to improve relations with Russia.
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza, a top Washington envoy for the Caucasus, traveled to the Abkhazian capital, Sukhumi, over the weekend to try to quell tensions.
Bryza told Georgian television station Mze on Monday that he thinks a peaceful resolution of the tensions is possible and "I consider that this is not a naive hope."
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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