16:04, 20 May 2004

Military garrison to be permanently stationed in Tsalka area

A military garrison will be permanently stationed in the area of Tsalka, a Georgian town in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region in the south of Georgia. Georgian Interior Minister Georgy Baramidze made such a decision on May 18. The permanent garrison is needed to prevent the escalation of tension in the region, the minister said.

A serious clash between Georgians and Armenians, which left 30 people injured, occurred in Tsalka on May 10. Units of the Georgian Interior Troops consisting of 150 people and additional units of the Georgian Interior Ministry were sent to Tsalka because of it.

Tsalka is densely populated by Armenians. Displaced persons from Adjaria and Svanetia whose plots were destroyed by landslides and floods have also lived their since 1988.

Source: Novosti-Gruzia Information Agency