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| Caucasus |
| Abkhazia isn't the Pankisi Gorge, but it's kinda like it... |
| 2002-03-05 |
Abkhazia is a breakaway area of Georgia, populated by an ethnically and linguistically distinct people. Abkhazis actually sound funny when they speak; sounds include a wavering trill, whistling noises, and a prolonged buzz. Sukhumi is the capital. The entire area is about 3,000 square miles, and most of the people are Caucasus hillbillies. Not being Muslims, Akhazis shoot each other and any strangers who wander in, but don't have any plans for world domination. There has been no real military activity in the Kodori corridor for years, although UN personnel have been kidnapped and their vehicles taken from them at times. These are not political activities, but banditry by local, ethnic Svans [yet another ethnically distinct group of hillbillies], who control the Kodori Valley. As a result of the risk of theft and abduction, the UN has cut its patrols to the valley. The Kodori corridor is not a hotspot but will continue to be the scene of widespread banditry. Who is responsible for the continual harassment of Abkhaz forces and civilians in the Gali sector? Two Georgian groups are known to operate across the ceasefire line, the White Legion and Forest Brothers. The White Legion is under the direction of Zoza Samushia and seems to have been more active in previous years although Samushia claims they still operate in Abkhazia. More recently the notoriety has gone to a group known as the Forest Brothers under the direction of Dato Shengalia. Very little information is available on the Forest Brothers and their leader, except that many Mingrelians and Georgians south of the ceasefire line consider him a hero. White Legion leader Samushia says that the Forest Brothers began in 1997, but little is known about their ranks. One insight has been provided by Jaba Ioseliani, a former member of the Military Council, which assumed power after overthrowing President Zviad Gamsakhurdia in 1992. Ioseliani, the leader of the Mkhedrioni - a private Georgian nationalist militia active in the original Abkhazian conflict - claims: "At least 80% of them [Forest Brothers] were Mkhedrioni members." It is speculated that the IDP camps serve as a hotbed of potential recruits as children driven from their homes in 1993 are now adults with no future - easily persuaded to join the partisan ranks. The real question is, are the attacks to be attributed to true partisan activity or simple lawlessness? Or are the banditry and partisan attacks so intertwined that it is impossible to separate the two? It is conceivable that the partisan activity might be motivated by both crime and ideological fervour combined in one campaign. The Mkhedrioni (Horsemen) are an interesting bunch. They were a free-lance militia, who played a major part in the overthrow of Gamsakhurdia, the self-styled "Saddam Hussein of the Caucasus," who was something of a case study in megalomania, and Ioseliani played a hefty part in the Military Council that replaced him. If I remember correctly, Abkhazia was restive under Gamsakhurdia, but the independence movement didn't really get off the ground until he beat it for there, with the Georgians hot on his heels. The Abkhazis reached for their shootin' arns as soon as the flatland furriners showed up. The Mkhedrioni supported themselves by banditry, and had the unpleasant habit of bumping off people they didn't like. No politics, just bad temper. They also ran the usual extortion operations. Sometime after Gamsakhurdia "committed suicide" in 1994, Ioseliani was implicated in a plot to assassinate Shevardnadze and the Mkhedrioni were broken up. Guess there are still a few of them around, probably pursuing the same trades. The first Chechen rebellion against the Sovs followed a similar pattern, with Dzhokar Dudaev playing the part of Gamsakhurdia, only the "heroic rebels" were on his side, but still using about the same tactics as the Horsemen. It was only after the area had been beaten up by the Russers that the Chechens noticed they were Good Muslims and invited the Wahhabis in to help. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |