The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on July 12, expressing concern over the July 11 assault against Russian tourists in Abkhazia, which left one of the tourists - 33-year-old Andrey Kabanov - mortally wounded. 

The Abkhaz authorities reported on July 11 that two armed unidentified individuals assaulted the group of two Russian families, killing one and taking two women and four children hostage, in village Arsauli (Primorskoye), Gudauta District, 30 kilometers west of Sokhumi, the region’s capital.

According to the same source, the hostages were later released. 

The Russian foreign agency said in its July 12 statement that it expected “that the law enforcement agencies of Abkhazia will, within the shortest period of time, find the criminals and bring them to justice.” “The Russian embassy in Sokhumi is carefully following the investigation,” it also noted.

The “Russian ambassador” in Abkhazia Semyon Grigoryev was less discreet in his statements. “I have told the leadership of the Republic of Abkhazia a number of times that providing for the safety of Russian tourists is a priority task for them,” Grigoryev told the local media.

On July 13, the Abkhaz prosecutors confirmed to the Russian TASS news agency that the suspects in the attack had been detained, but refrained from specifying their identities.

The assault comes less than a month after a series of particularly vicious crimes alarmed the local public.