GEORGIAN OPPOSITION GROUP CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR RAIDS IN ABKHAZIA.

The shadowy Georgian group "White Legion" has claimed responsibility for the recent series of guerrilla attacks on military and economic targets in Abkhazia. Interviewed in yesterday’s issue of the Tbilisi newspaper Akhali Taoba, the leader of White Legion, Zurab Samushia, stated that his group is acting independently of the authorities and will continue its armed struggle until Georgian sovereignty is restored in Abkhazia. Pointing to Moscow’s support for Abkhazian secession and describing the Abkhaz authorities as "Russian marionettes," Samushia also denounced the Georgian government’s acceptance of Russian "peacekeeping" in the region . (Interfax, February 18)

Samushia was previously known in Tbilisi as a supporter of the warlord and former Defense Minister Tengiz Kitovani, who has been in jail since 1995. Guerrilla raids in Abkhazia have gained momentum since last December. Senior Georgian officials have ascribed the raids to local ethnic Georgians and refugees exasperated by Abkhaz policies.

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