TBILISI. April 11 (Interfax-AVN) - A joint patrol of UN military observers and Russian peacekeepers has found an abandoned ZSU-23 Shilka self-propelled air defense system and two MTLB multipurpose light-armored prime movers near the town of Tkvarcheli in the area controlled by Abkhazia, a spokesman for the UN mission in Georgia said on Thursday.
"The hardware found by the patrol on the outskirts of Tkvarcheli is similar to destroyed and abandoned armament registered during the inspection of the Korodi gorge section controlled by the Georgian party," the spokesman told Interfax- Military News Agency.
"The abandoned hardware is inoperable and does not pose a threat to security in the area," the spokesman stressed. At the same time the UN military observers will continue to monitor the territory for they do not rule out attempts at restoration and subsequent use of the hardware.