Georgia hunts gunmen after 14 killed near Russia border

Georgian special forces on Thursday hunted the remaining members of an alleged armed gang from Russia after 14 men on both sides were killed in clashes near the border between the ex-Soviet foes, officials said.

“The police operation continues. Fortunately there have been no casualties since yesterday,” interior ministry spokeswoman Salome Makharadaze told AFP.

Georgia said three servicemen and 11 gunmen were killed on Wednesday after special forces launched an operation against the gang which it alleged had crossed the frontier from Russia’s restive North Caucasus region of Dagestan and taken hostages.

Six gunmen are still evading capture, the interior ministry said.

All the hostages were freed unharmed during the operation which saw the worst casualties near the Georgia-Russia border since the ex-Soviet neighbours fought a brief war in 2008.

Russia has been trying to crush a long-running Islamist insurgency in North Caucasus republics including Dagestan and Chechnya, although Georgian officials have so far not identified the gunmen killed on Wednesday as suspected rebels.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said in a televised speech late Wednesday that the instability in southern Russia would not be allowed to spread across the Caucasus mountains into his country.

“The Georgian state will not allow turmoil, instability and violence on the territory of our neighbouring country to spill over into Georgia in any form and to pose a threat to our civilians and our peaceful development,” Saakashvili said.