2024-11-12 10:16:00
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — A group of protesters in Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia blocked a bridge leading to the region’s capital on Tuesday, amid growing tensions over a proposed law to encourage Russian investment. .
According to media reports, police and protesters clashed on one of the bridges, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.
Abkhazia, a region of about 245,000 people, has been largely under separatist control since the end of the war in 1993.
Russia now officially recognizes Abkhazia as an independent state, but many residents of the region worry about economic and political pressure from its northern neighbor.
The problems began on Monday after the Abkhazian parliament debated a bill that would allow Russian citizens to buy land and properties in Abkhazia, whose mountains and Black Sea beaches make it a popular tourist destination for Russians.
Five opponents of the bill were detained after the meeting, according to Russian and Georgian news reports, but it was unclear what actions led to the arrests. Protesters demanding his release and opposing the bill gathered at the headquarters of the territorial security service in the capital Sukhumi.
Bridges began closing overnight.
Abkhaz President Aslan Bazaniya said on Tuesday that concrete actions were being taken to clear the bridge and that “Abkhaz security agencies have sufficient troops and resources to ensure security and public order in the country.”
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This story was translated from English by AP editors with the help of generated artificial intelligence tools.
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