DFWatch staff 
TBILISI, DFWatch–A 30 year old woman and her 9 months old son died in an explosion in an apartment block in Tbilisi Thursday morning, the emergency management service reports. The explosion occurred at around 11am in the eastern Ponichala district and was reportedly caused by a gas leak. Several other people were also injured, including … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Russian border forces have begun installing reinforced barbed wire fence through the village Dzukaantkari (Dzukata) near Gori, as part of a gradual demarcation around the breakaway region South Ossetia. The new and ‘more solid’ type of fences are replacing the old fences that were installed in 2009 and run right through the center of … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–One of the persons reportedly sending presidential candidate Salome Zurabishvili and her family members death threats has been identified and the Ministry of Internal Affairs launched a criminal investigation into the case. “The person who threatened Salome Zurabisvhili and her family members is a member of a military unit which carries out military operations … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Salome Zurabishvili, the presidential candidate supported by Georgia Dream, calls on the police to respond after reportedly receiving deaths threats from ex-soldiers with links to the opposition National Movement. The threats were also directed at her son and daughter. Zurabishvili, who narrowly won the first round of the presidential election, said she also alerted … Read more
GALI, DFWatch–None of the political parties in Georgia’s presidential election campaigned in the conflict zone, according to locals DFWatch spoke to in Gali, the southern district of breakaway Abkhazia. This is unlike previous elections, when the ruling party had local campaign workers out among the population promising various benefits, a resident of the village Tagiloni … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Tskhinvali has resumed installation of barbed wire fence along the administrative borderline between Georgia proper and the breakaway republic of South Ossetia. The de facto security committee plans to install one km long fence in the vicinity of the villages of Balta and Atotsi in the Kareli district. The reason for the resumption of … Read more
GALI, DFWatch–Abkhazia has temporarily suspended the issuing of residence permits, an essential document needed by Gali residents in order to travel to Georgia proper. Breakaway authorities in Gali claim the reason is a technical problem with a printing machine, locals DFWatch spoke to explained. They were told that the printer had run out of ink. … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–The opposition candidate in Georgia’s run-off election for president pledges to eliminate the ‘political police’ if he wins. Grigol Vashadze from the National Movement also promised to release everyone from prison who is serving time for use or possession of soft drugs and to call a snap parliamentary election. “The first thing we should … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–South Ossetia on Saturday celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding of Komsomol, the infamous political youth organization during the Soviet Union. Central in the celebrations were various events with participation by school pupils dressed in pioneer uniforms including the classic red scarves. Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization was the children’s political agency for … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Four opposition activists were hospitalized Tuesday after supporters of the ruling GD party burst into a local branch office of the UNM in the predominantly ethnic Armenian town Akhalkalaki. Among the attackers were the brother of a member of parliament for GD, UNM claims. One of the hospitalized UNM members sustained relatively serious injuries … Read more