TBILISI. Jan 21 (Interfax-AVN) - Two residents of the Pankisi Gorge who took part in a police-led operation in the village of Zemo Khalatsni, were seriously wounded and taken to a hospital in Tbilisi.
A group of policemen together with several Pankisi Gorge residents arrested Temur Chitnashvili, who had been on a wanted list on suspicion of robbery, Zurab Tushuri, the head of the Kakheti regional police told Interfax. The police cars came under fire as they were leaving the village, as a result of which two Chechens were wounded.
Tushuri believes that this incident can only make law enforcement agencies fight crime in the Pankisi Gorge more intensively. The wounding of the two local Chechens, one of whom is the son of a local elder, will push the local population to bring order to the area.
Some 40 young Chechens are currently helping the police arrest criminals, Tushuri said.