(Tbilisi, August 24 2002, Civil Georgia) On August 24 OSCE Observers officially confirmed that on August 23 an air attack was commenced on Pankisi gorge. They stated that several unidentified aircraft entered Georgian airspace from the Russian side, informs "Echo of Moscow" Radio Station.

According to the data of the OSCE Observers Mission to Georgia, the aircraft flew on high altitude and few minutes later explosion and flames were registered 30 kilometers away from the Russian-Georgian state border.

Russian military authorities reject not only the fact of bombing but also flights of the military aircraft near the border line on August 23.