The president of Georgia's breakaway, Russian-backed Abkhazia region summoned his security council on November 16 after the so-called prime minister of the rebel province was beaten up by attackers in the center of its main city.
The de facto government's interior minister said two men used a car to block Beslan Butba's Mercedes on a Sukhumi street on November 15 and then attacked him.
Butba was traveling with his wife and children and without bodyguards. He suffered a concussion.
De facto President Raul Khajimba said the attack was "symptomatic" of lawlessness in the Black Sea province and demanded law enforcement agencies "immediately use all resources to establish order."
Khajimba was elected in August after Aleksandr Ankvab resigned on June 1 following days of political upheaval.
The attack on Butba came on the same day that more than 30,000 people rallied in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, in part to voice concern over a proposed treaty between Moscow and Sukhumi that would strengthen Russia's control over Abkhazia and provide for the creation of joint Russian and Abkhazian military forces.
Editors' Picks
Top Trending
1
In Russia's War Economy, The Warning Lights Are Blinking
2Attack From Afghanistan Kills Chinese National In Tajikistan, Sources Say
3RFE/RL Reveals Chilling New Details Of Bucha Massacre As Ukraine Marks 1,000 Days Of War
4Putin Says Russia Fired New Intermediate Missile At Ukraine After ICBM Accusations
5Could U.S. Long-Range Missiles Tip The Balance In The Ukraine War?
6Wider Europe Briefing: Georgia's Vanishing EU Dreams
7No Smooth Sailing For Climate Activist Greta Thunberg In The Caucasus
8Steps Too Far As Moscow, Washington Cross 'Red Lines' Over Ukraine?
9U.S. Reportedly Allows Ukraine To Strike Russia With Long-Range Weapons
10Ukraine Live Briefing: Verkhovna Rada Closes Over Strike Fears
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.
