| 2001 Kodori crisis | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theAbkhaz–Georgian conflict andSecond Chechen War | ||||||||
 Map of Abkhazia showing the location of the Kodori Gorge | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Belligerents | ||||||||
 Chechen division under Gelayev Georgian guerrillas[1] |  UN Peacekeepers[2] | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
 Vladislav Ardzinba | Ruslan Gelayev | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||
| 1 helicopter, 9 KIA[4] | ||||||||
| At least 40 killed[5] | ||||||||
The2001 Kodori crisis was a confrontation in theKodori Valley,Abkhazia, in October 2001 between Georgians (who were supported by ethnicChechen fighters) and Abkhaz forces.[6] The fighting resulted in the deaths of at least 40 people and the bombing of three villages.[5][7]
On October 4, 2001, a group of Chechen and Georgian fighters led by the commanderRuslan Gelayev entered the gorge from the Georgian side and attacked the villageGiorgievskoe.[5] Then, on October 8, 2001 9:20AM[8], a helicopter carrying United Nations observers was shot down over Kodori, killing nine.[9] The Russian air force carried out air strikes on the fighters.[10] A group of fighters was intercepted by Abkhaz forces nearIlori on October 17. On October 17 Abkhazian Defence Ministry officials said that the lower part of the valley was again under the Abkhazian control.[11]
The crisis was largely neglected by the world media, which was focused on the concurrentUS attack on Afghanistan.
On 5 August 2004, Valery Chkhetiani, one of the Georgian fighters captured by Abkhaz forces, suffered a stroke during a walk and was brought to a hospital, where he died two days later, on 7 August. Chkhetiani, a resident ofKutaisi born in 1973, had been condemned to a prison sentence of 15 years.[12]
On 29 July 2006,Mart Laar, former prime minister of Estonia and then adviser to the Georgian president, was quoted as saying that the Kodori conflict was engineered by Russia. Laar also warned that future provocations of Georgia by Russia are to be expected, but that Georgia has prepared itself to make it through any challenges posed by Russia.[13]
On 30 April 2008, Russia accused Georgia of massing 1500 troops in the Kodori region in preparation to invade Abkhazia. Georgia maintained the troops were present in accordance with a 1994 accord that allowed for peacekeeping forces in the region and were essential to maintaining order after the 2001 Kodori crisis. Russia responded by deploying troops to the region, further escalating tensions between Russia and Georgia. These forces would later take part inthe war in 2008.[14]