GEORGIA: THREE U.N. MILITARY OBSERVERS AND THEIR GEORGIAN INTERPRETER ARRIVE BACK IN TBILISI AFTER BEING FREED BY THEIR KIDNAPPERS

Record ID: 643532

  • Title: GEORGIA: THREE U.N. MILITARY OBSERVERS AND THEIR GEORGIAN INTERPRETER ARRIVE BACK IN TBILISI AFTER BEING FREED BY THEIR KIDNAPPERS
  • Date: 11th June 2003
  • Summary: (W4) MILITARY AERODROME, NEAR TBILISI, GEORGIA (JUNE 11, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. GV: MILITARY HELICOPTER (WITH HOSTAGES ON BOARD) LANDING 0.12 2. LV/WS: GEORGIAN PRIME MINISTER AND OTHER OFFICIALS MEETING U.N OBSERVERS 0.17 3. GV: U.N VEHICLE WITH MILITARY HELICOPTER HOVERING BY IN BACKGROUND 0.23 4. WS/LV: FOUR HOSTAGES IN BLUE BERETS LEAVING HELICOPTER AND BEING GREETED BY U.N OFFICIALS AS U.N. AND MILITARY VEHICLES PASS BY IN FOREGROUND 1.01 5. WS: OF AERODROME WITH PARKED U.N CARS 1.06 6. LV/WS: U.N HOSTAGES EMBRACING COLLEAGUES 1.16 (W4) TBILISI, GEORGIA (JUNE 11, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 7. VARIOUS: MOTORCADE WITH HOSTAGES ON THE ROAD AND ENTERING U.N OBSERVER MISSION 1.33 8. GATES TO U.N. OBSERVER MISSION CLOSE (U.N. LOGO CLEARLY VISIBLE) 1.39 9. VARIOUS: OTHER U.N OFFICIALS ENTER GATES AS MEDIA ARE PREVENTED FROM ASKING QUESTIONS BY GUARD 1.49 10. WS/LV: U.N OBSERVERS EMBRACING EACH OTHER NEAR U.N OFFICE 2.09 11. LV: OF U.N. OUTPOST BUILDING 2.11 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 26th June 2003 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: MILITARY AERODROME, NEAR TBILISI AND TBILISI, GEORGIA
  • Country: Georgia
  • Reuters ID: LVA4FO0C02Z3QXNPMSMGIJY1EHX1
  • Story Text: Three U.N military observers and their Georgian
    interpreter have arrived in the Georgian capital after being
    held hostages for several days and later safely released from
    their kidnappers.



    Klaus Ott and Herbert Bauer from Germany, Henrik
    Soerensen from Denmark and Georgian interpreter Lasha
    Chikashua were brought to Georgia's military aerodrome
    outside Tbilisi on Wednesday (June 11) where they were met by
    U.N mission.

    The three U.N. military observers were abducted on
    Thursday (June 5) in the remote Kodori Gorge on the border
    with Abkhazia, which broke away from Georgia in 1993.

    The media was kept away from the group and were not able
    to take any comment from them.

    The observers were part of a 100-strong U.N. team
    monitoring the border since 1993, when Abkhazian separatists
    drove out Georgian troops in a conflict that killed about
    10,000 people.

    Abkhazia is not recognised as an independent state by any
    country or international body.

    In the last such incident, Polish and Greek observers were
    held for a few days in December 2000. According to officials,
    they too were released without conditions.


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