Juvenile Exploded Because of a Landmine on the Bank of the Enguri River

Thirteen-year-old Levan Bagatelia exploded because of a landmine on the bank of the Enguri River. The accident happened while he was fishing in the river together with other friends in the village of Otoboaia in the Gali District on October 11.

Witnesses claimed that he noticed a strange thing on the river bank and pressed the detonator without thinking. Levan Bagatelia died on the scene as a result of the explosion. One more minor, standing nearby, was slightly injured. The relatives took the body of the dead boy to Zugdidi Prosecutorial Office. Medical Expert Roin Fetelava stated that the head of the boy was separated from the body and it had numerous injuries on it.

Officials from the Abkhazian Legitimate Government’s Representation to the Gali District stated that many similar accidents have happened in the district. Tornike Kilanava affirmed that mostly adolescents and children fall victim to the landmines. “The landmines in the bed of the Enguri River and its embankments have not been neutralized yet. Even though international organizations have carried out mine clearing operations in the area, dangerous places still remain.”

Reservists of the CIS Peacekeeping Force are active in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict zone. This force includes a mine clearing division too. Laurence Koghonia, the head of the Gali District Police Station, stated that details of the explosion are still vague and the investigation is under way. Aleksandre Djordjev, Assistant to the Commander of the CIS Peacekeeping Force, stated that their mine cleaners have investigated the area fifteen times already on the request of the Gali and Tkvarcheli population. Each time the area was cleared. Djordjev claimed that they destroyed 60 mines in 2007. In 1994 they destroyed 20.000 similar explosion devices.

Nana Fazhava, Zugdidi