2001 Kodori crisis

2001 Kodori crisis
Part of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict and Second Chechen War
Map of Abkhazia showing the location of the Kodori Gorge
Date October 4 - October 18, 2001 Location The Kodori Gorge, Abkhazia Result Abkhazian victory
Belligerents
Abkhaz military	Chechen militants Georgian military (Abkhazian claim)
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Ruslan Gelayev
Casualties and losses
At least 40 killed

The 2001 Kodori crisis occurred when fighting flared in the Georgian separatist-controlled region, Abkhazia, in October 2001, as ethnic Chechen fighters launched an assault on breakaway Abkhazian forces in the Kodori Gorge. The crisis was largely neglected by world media, focused on then-actual US attack on Afghanistan. The fighting killed 40 people.

Timeline

On October 4, 2001, a group of Chechen and Georgian fighters led by the commander Ruslan Gelayev entered the gorge from the Georgian side and attacked the village Giorgievskoe. Then, on October 8, 2001, a helicopter carrying United Nations observers was shot down over Kodori, killing nine.

On October 18, 2001, Abkhaz Defense Ministry officials claimed their forces were again in full control of the lower, Abkhaz reaches of the Kodori gorge. The majority of the remaining members of what the Abkhaz and Russians have described as an invading Chechen/Georgian force have left Abkhazia, these officials said, presumably making their way back into Georgian-controlled territory.

Aftermath

On 5 August 2004, Valery Chkhetiani, one of the Georgian fighters captured by Abkhazian forces, suffered a stroke during a walk and was brought to a hospital, where he died two days later, on 7 August. Chkhetiani, a resident of Kutaisi and born in 1973, had been condemned to a prison sentence of 15 years.

On 29 July 2006, Mart Laar, former prime minister of Estonia and then adviser to the Georgian president, was quoted as saying that the Kodori conflict was engineered by Russia. Laar also warned that future provocations of Georgia by Russia are to be expected, but that Georgia has prepared itself to make it through any challenges posed by Russia.

On 30 April 2008, Georgia was accused of massing 1500 troops in the Kodori region in preparation to invade Abkhazia, who broke away from Georgia after a civil war in 1993. Georgia maintained the troops were present in accordance to a 1994 accord that allowed for peacekeeping forces in the region and were essential to maintaining order after the 2001 Kodori crisis. Russia responded by deploying troops to the region, further escalating tensions between Russia and Georgia.