Refugees in Pankisi Gorge area fear of provocations from Russian special services

Refugees from Chechnya are afraid that in the period preceding the extraordinary presidential election in Georgia the Pankisi Gorge area can become a target of the Russian special services again.

As it is known, the deputy head of the North Caucasian frontier department of the Russian Federal Security Service, Major-General Solovyov, declared that the fighters, who shot down frontier guards in the Tsuntinsky district of Dagestan, had arranged winter bases in Georgia.

"At present we do not have full information about the group, but eyewitnesses say there are Arabs, Dagestanis and Chechens in it," said Solovyov.

According to chairman of the Chechen International Human Rights Committee Aslanbek Abdurzakov, in difficult periods of the Georgian-Russian relations, the theme of the Pankisi Gorge always emerges as one of the means to either destabilize a situation in Georgia or put pressure upon it.

According to him, recent statements by the Russian party concerning the movement of fighters along the frontier are not accidental, and recent developments in Dagestan can be used as a ground for new accusations against Georgia. "The Pankisi Gorge area is an important card for Russia in this respect, and any aggravation of the situation in the region can suit Russia," he added.

Chechen refugees in the Pankisi Gorge understand the importance of stability in Georgia in the given period, and collaborate with Georgian special services as far as possible in order to prevent provocations, Aslanbek Abdurzakov noted.