Georgia Plans to Increase Force in Iraq

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040430/ap_on_re_mi_ea/un_georgia_iraq_1

Georgia Plans to Increase Force in Iraq

UNITED NATIONS - Georgia will triple its troop contribution to Iraq (news - web sites) because it believes stabilizing the country is critical to the global war on terrorism, Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania said.

Defense officials in the Georgian capital Tblisi said the troop level would be raised from 158 to 550 by June. The contingent is based in Baghdad and Tikrit.

"We consider this a very important part of our international obligations," Zhvania told reporters Thursday after briefing the U.N. Security Council on Georgia's efforts to peacefully resolve the conflict in its breakaway region of Abkhazia.

Zhvania said plans haven't been finalized yet but he said the increase would give Georgia a full battalion in the U.S.-led stabilization force.

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Georgian President Gives Adjara 10 Days to Reform
VOA News
02 May 2004, 19:45 UTC


Georgia's president has given the leader of the semi-autonomous region of Adjara 10 days to fall in line with Georgia's national government or be removed from office.
President Mikhail Saakashvili told reporters in a press conference Sunday that he will take steps if necessary to curb the powers of Adjaran leader Aslan Abashidze.

He said he hopes to resolve the standoff peacefully but will dissolve Adjara's local government if necessary.

Earlier today, Mr. Abashidze ordered the destruction of at least two bridges that link Adjara to the rest of Georgia, saying he feared attacks by Georgian troops.

It took two blasts to down a major bridge spanning the Choloki River, which forms a natural border separating Adjara from the rest of Georgia. Reports about the location of the second bridge are not clear.

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more: http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=FD362B5B-DBF3-4059-83A3DCDFBF98C79F

all along? Just curious.