Georgian government forces battled on Wednesday to crush a rebellion by a militia leader in a strategic gorge, sparking fears the fighting could ignite fresh conflict in the neighbouring breakaway region of Abkhazia. At least two Interior Ministry servicemen had been slightly wounded, said President Mikhail Saakashvili's chief of staff.
Overnight clashes in Kodori gorge - a gateway to the Georgian Black Sea province of Abkhazia which has had de facto independence since 1993 - have alarmed Abkhaz separatists, suspicious of any government military build-up in the area.
The presidential chief of staff, Georgy Arveladze, declined to confirm or deny media reports which said between two and 30 people were wounded in fighting and dozens of rebels detained.
"Right now I can only confirm that two police officers (Interior Ministry servicemen) ... were slightly wounded, their lives are not in danger," he told Reuters. "Once the operation is over we will be able to calculate all the casualties and the number of detainees."
Part of the gorge is controlled by Abkhaz separatists, while another part has been under government control through local Monadire (Hunter) militia leader Emzar Kvitsiani. But on Sunday, ex-governor Kvitsiani declared he would no longer take orders from Tbilisi. Georgian troops now face up to 70 heavily armed Kvitsiani supporters, Arveladze said.
Georgia has ruled out talks with Kvitsiani, whose Monadire fighters played a key role in preventing Abkhaz separatists from taking control parts of the gorge populated by ethnic Georgians. Pro-Western Saakashvili, whose elite troops have been trained by US instructors, dissolved the Monadire in 2005 as part of his drive to get rid of regional militias. But most of have refused to disarm.