Authorities in breakaway Abkhazia say that “a member of Georgian saboteurs’ squad” was killed in a clash with the Abkhaz law enforcement officers in the Gali district, Abkhaz news agency, Apsnipress, reported on August 15.

According to the report, the incident occurred on August 13 close to the village of Primorsk (Gudava) when the breakaway region’s security service was carrying out an operation to capture “a member of Georgian saboteurs’ squad, which was on the Abkhaz territory with a purpose of carrying out subversive-terrorist acts.” The breakaway region’s authorities have claimed that the man opened fire first, but was killed after the Abkhaz law enforcement officers returned fire.

Apsnipress also reported that three local residents of Primorsk village were arrested in frames of the same operation. All three “are suspected of having links with the Georgian special services,” according to this report.

Also on August 15, the Georgian sources reported that a nine-year old boy was kidnapped from the village of Kvemo Bargebi in the predominately ethnic Georgian-populated Gali district of the breakaway region.