Fears for the safety of ethnic Georgians in the disputed region of Abkhazia continue after reports that at least 10 people were killed and dozens more injured or ill-treated when Abkhazian militia swept through the Gali district from 11 to 16 March 1995 in an operation ostensibly to register Georgian refugees and locate “partisans”. A spokesperson for UNHCR reported that UN doctors had seen at least 10 bodies, most bearing evidence of torture. UN doctors had also treated at least 35 people who had suffered similar tortures – pulled fingernails, burns and wounds apparently caused by red-hot bayonets or knives and beatings. Local residents have reported finding at least another six bodies and an undetermined number of people were said to be missing.
