Anatoly Chaban, the Commander of the Russian peacekeeping troops in the Abkhazia conflict zone, said on July 29 that although Georgia has launched withdrawal of its troops from upper Kodori gorge, government forces still remain in the area.

“Last night we observed withdrawal of 21 vehicles [from Kodori Gorge] towards Zugdidi [in the Samegrelo region at the administrative border with Abkhazia]. It seems that the process of withdrawal has been launched, but as 112 vehicles of different type still remain in Kodori Gorge, the process [withdrawal] should continue,” Chaban said after a quadripartite meeting in Chuburkhinji, which involves representatives from the Georgian and Abkhazia sides, as well as Russian peacekeepers and UN observers.