TBILISI. July 18 (Interfax-AVN) - Nine servicemen from the naval division of the Georgian Defense Ministry have deserted from their unit deployed in the seaport city of Poti, the Georgian radio Imedi reported on Thursday.
The parents of the deserters have claimed that the desertion was prompted by extremely difficult routine conditions in the unit, the radio said.
The Georgian Defense Ministry told Interfax that the report on a mass desertion from the Poti naval division is being verified at the moment.
According to information of the office of the Georgian People's Defender, military prosecutors have initiated about 5,000 criminal cases on desertion because of difficult routine conditions in the past five years.