Tbilisi Says Abkhaz Troops Seize Georgian Villages

Georgia's Foreign Ministry says the country's breakaway region of Abkhazia, backed by Russian forces, has seized control of 13 villages in Georgian territory and a power plant.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said that "armed gangs" of the Abkhaz separatist regime, together with units of the Russian regular army, had "shifted the administrative border" of Abkhazia towards the Enguri River.

The statement said the forces had seized two villages in the Zugdidi region, 11 villages in the Tsalenjikha region, and territory connected to the Enguri hydropower plant.

The Georgian statement could not immediately be independently confirmed.

Crisis In Georgia

Crisis In Georgia
For RFE/RL's full coverage of the conflict that began in Georgia's breakway region of South Ossetia, click here.