GALI, DFWatch – The loss of sources of income related to the spread of deadly brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), which has devastated locals’ orchards, urges residents of Gali to return to illegal business of smuggling goods, particularly cigarettes, from the breakaway Abkhazia to Georgia proper.
Abkhazia
Abkhazia’s de facto prime minister killed in car accident
Sokhumi regime vice president resigns, declares vendetta to punish offender

Vice president of breakaway Abkhazia has stepped down after an incident when he was hit by a glass to his head, saying that plans to retaliate in “Abkhazian spirit”.
Abkhazia declares Soviet passports invalid
GALI, DFWatch–Sokhumi has declared as invalid passports issued during the Soviet Union, which will cause problems for Georgians living in Abkhazia, many of whom rely on the documents for traveling in and out of the breakaway republic, locals told DFWatch.
Catastrophic mandarin harvest deals heavy blow to Abkhazia's exports
TBILISI, DFWatch–Abkhazia’s export of mandarins and other produce has plummeted by 2.7 times, dealing a heavy blow to the breakaway republic’s economy.
Local media blame the bad harvest on the spread of brown marmorated stink bug, which has devastated crops also in Georgia.
51 people jailed for entering Georgia’s breakaway territories the wrong way

TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia has jailed 51 persons over the last nine years for entering Abkhazia or South Ossetia from the wrong direction. The ombudsman now calls for a review of the law.
Georgia’s Law on the Occupied Territories
Mshybzia! Futile activism serves the interests of elites

The new Georgian social media campaign aimed at reaching out to Abkhaz society is an example of a futile activism informed by nationalist narratives which are being used by Georgian political elites to distract society from the core issue of unresolved ethnic conflict
Georgia to seek international criminal prosecution for suspect in Khurcha incident

TBILISI, DFWatch–In a statement released on Saturday, Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia laid out its version of the tragic event of May 19, and announced it would appeal to the court demanding detention in absentia of Rashid Kanciogli, identified as a person who allegedly
Georgian IDP killed by Abkhaz guards at checkpoint
An ethnic Georgian man was fatally wounded by an Abkhaz border officer in an incident that occurred at the Khurcha-Nabakevi checkpoint at the de facto border with Abkhazia, inside the territory under control of Georgian authorities. The video (+18) from a surveillance camera distributed by Rustavi 2 shows how four men in uniforms assault on … Read more


