STAVROPOL. Aug 6 (Interfax-AVN) - Chief of the North Caucasus regional border guard department Colonel General Yevgeny Bolkhovitin has send a telegram to acting chief-of-staff of the Georgian State Border Guard Department Colonel Kornely Salia telling him that there is a possibility of new breakthroughs of rebels from Georgia to Russia.
"This was done in the wake of the increasing number of attempts at crossing into Russia from the Georgian territory by members of illegal armed formations," an official of the North Caucasus department's press service told Interfax-Military News Agency on Tuesday.
In particular, the telegram says, "According to information obtained from captured rebels from field commander Khasan's group that was destroyed in the Itum-Kale district of Chechnya on July 27- 31 this year, guerrilla groups subordinate to warlord Ruslan Gelayev left villages of Georgia's Pankisi gorge in July with a goal to cross into Russia and headed for the Russian state border."
Taking this into account, Bolkhovitin drew attention of the Georgian colleagues to "the need to take comprehensive measures in order to prevent the violation of the state border from the Georgian territory by members of illegal armed formations," the official said.
He stressed that border guards of the Itum-Kale detachment together with special service units and aviation of the unified federal group in the North Caucasus continued reconnaissance operations on Monday with a mission to detect scattered remains of the rebel group eliminated by border guards in the Kerigo gorge from July 27 to 31.
In order to strengthen the Chechen strap of the Georgian- Russian border, reserve aviation units were transferred to the North Caucasus.
"During the engagements the Itum-Kale district, guerrillas lost over 20 people KIA, three more rebels were captured. Losses among border guards are on the same level - eight people KIA and seven WIA," the official said.