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Georgian drone shot down over Abkhazia-rebels

Georgia Materials 4 May 2008 18:59 (UTC +04:00)
Georgian drone shot down over Abkhazia-rebels

A Georgian spy drone has been shot down over Georgia's rebel region of Abkhazia, a spokesman for Abkhazia's defence ministry said on Sunday.

"The Georgian spy drone was shot down over Abkhazia by Abkhazian air defence forces," the official said. Separatist officials said the incident happened on Sunday.

Russia's Interfax news agency said a second drone was shot down over Abkhazia on Sunday, but gave no further details.

A senior Georgian Interior Ministry official said there had been no flights by Georgian drones in the area on Sunday.

Georgia accused Russia last month of shooting down a Georgian spy drone over Abkhazia, sparking a bitter row. Russia denied its air force had downed the drone and said Abkhaz forces, which Moscow supports, had shot it down.

Russia's ties with Georgia have been strained for more than a decade, in part by Moscow's support for Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two breakaway regions that threw off Georgian rule in wars in the 1990s, Reuters reported.

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