According to reports from Tbilisi, a patrol of Russian or Russian-backed forces have shot and killed a Georgian civilian near the village of Kirbali in Gori municipality, northern Georgia, approximately 56 miles (90 kilometers) from the capitol of Tbilisi during an attempted arrest or abduction near the Administrative Border Line, or ABL as foreign monitoring services have called the line between Tbilisi-controlled territory and Russian-controlled land after the 2008 war between the two nations.
According to reports, Tamaz Ginturi, a Georgian citizen who also served in the Georgian Armed Forces during the 2008 war, was killed during an attempted apprehension for allegedly crossing the ABL, while another, Levan Dotiashvili, was captured and is presumably being help in captivity.
I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family of the Georgian citizen killed by Russian occupation forces during his illegal detention. I call on the occupation forces to immediately release another Georgian citizen who was illegally detained and fulfill the…
— Ilia Darchiashvili (@iliadarch) November 6, 2023
Ilia Darchiashvili, Georgia’s Foreign Minister, via X
According to the Georgian State Security Service, “On November 6, 2023, near the village of Kirbali, Gori municipality, in the occupied territory, during an attempt to illegally arrest a local resident, a Georgian citizen died as a result of shooting with a firearm by the Russian occupying forces, and one citizen was illegally detained. Active communication is underway using all tools available to the Central Government of Georgia”
“I am deeply concerned about the killing of a Georgian citizen during illegal detention by the Russian occupying forces. This brutal attack on Georgian statehood once again exposes the true nature of a “one-faith brother”. I call on the international community to unequivocally condemn the actions of Russia, which blatantly and shamelessly violates all international norms,” Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili stated on social media.
https://t.co/aol3Jnh2ip pic.twitter.com/1Gcust3EVk
— MikeReports (@mikereports) November 6, 2023
Pro-Russian South Ossetian news outlet RES reported that “a Georgian citizen was fatally wounded during an attempt to be detained on the border of South Ossetia near the village of Grom, Tskhinvali region.”
“I don’t know what exactly happened there. I only know that there was an incident with the use of weapons,” Deputy Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy of the of the Republic of South Ossetia for Post-Conflict Resolution Egor Kochiev said, according to RES.
