U.N. Observers Abducted in Georgia

Gunmen abducted a group of U.N. military observers on Thursday from the Kodori Gorge, a hot spot contested by Georgian government forces and Abkhazian separatists, officials said. The gunmen, who were not identified, opened fire on a truck carrying members of a joint patrol of U.N. observers and Russian peacekeepers, said Daur Amichba, a spokesman for the Abkhazian defense ministry. None of the patrol members was wounded or killed, but four were taken captive, Amichba said, citing a telephone call from the U.N. mission in the Abkhazian capital Sukhumi. The gunmen disarmed the Russians and ordered them to leave the area on foot, and took the rest of the patrol captive, Amzar Kvitsiani, Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze’s representative in the Kodori region, told Georgian radio. According to preliminary reports, the captives included three U.N. military observers and a translator. Neither Georgian nor U.N. officials in Georgia could confirm that, and U.N. officials said they had no comment on the incident. The names and nationalities of the abducted personnel were not immediately available. Full Story