TBILISI. April 15 (Interfax-AVN) - The Georgian authorities are starting on Monday a census of Chechen refugees staying in the Pankisi gorge, Irakly Pirtskhalava, special representative of the Georgian Ministry for Refugee Affairs and Resettlement, told Interfax-Military News Agency.
A special group of the ministry's officials started on April 11 preliminary work in the Akhmeta district where the gorge is located.
According to Pirtskhalava, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees will provide financial and technical support for the census.
The census is planned to end in late April.
In 2001, the Pankisi gorge hosted some 8,600 refugees from Chechnya.