Abkhaz leader Sergey Bagapsh visited the predominantly ethnic Georgian-populated Gali district of the breakaway region on December 28 to mark the 70th anniversary of the town of Gali, the Abkhaz news agency, Apsnipress, reported.

The news agency also reported that “a large number of people from every village in the district” had arrived in Gali to participate in the ceremonies marking the anniversary.

Meanwhile, the Tbilisi-based Rustavi 2 TV reported on December 29 that ethnic Georgians had been forced by the local authorities to attend the ceremonies. The station also calmed that local people had been threatened not to participate in the upcoming presidential election on January 5.