Georgia: Russians "digging into" Poti for the long haul

Molly Corso: 8/20/08

Russian troops on August 20 entered the Black Sea port city of Poti for the second day in a row, reportedly stationing columns of armed vehicles at the city's main entrance and in an outlying district.

The Georgian Ministry of the Interior states that Russian troops are "digging into" the port city, a strategic site and the location of a recent $200 million port development project. Although reports from the ground differ, Poti City Administration Chief Roin Gigiberia told EurasiaNet that Russian soldiers have started cutting potholes into the city's streets and have set up check points on a bridge leading into the town.

Russian military planes were also seen flying over Poti late in the afternoon on August 20, city residents said. Local residents reported hearing explosions from both Poti and Senaki throughout the day; the Russian detonation of ammunition dumps are thought to be responsible for the blasts.

Lasha Zarginava, a Georgian journalist working in Poti, told EurasiaNet that the Russians practically "occupy" the city and have started to build a "tent base" on the outskirts of town. He noted that the soldiers have fired on journalists, and taken military equipment.

The Russian Defense Ministry could not be reached for comment.

The reported Russian advance on Poti comes just one day after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov assured Georgia and its allies that the Russian forces would leave the country in "two or three days." Fighting between the two countries broke out on August 8. Although both sides have signed a six-point agreement to begin the peace process, Russia so far has failed to fulfill the pact's central provision – the withdrawal of Russian forces from Georgia proper.

The August 20 incursion comes a day after Russian peacekeepers occupied Poti's port area for several hours, leaving with American-owned military equipment, as well as humanitarian aid, according to Gigiberia and a government report.

Gigiberia claims that the peacekeepers "went crazy" when they opened cargo containers of clothes and television sets waiting at the port, taking some of the goods and humanitarian aid for themselves. Few of the men were dressed in complete uniforms, with some sporting flip-flops or sneakers for footwear, he said. Similar ad hoc military dress has been seen in Gori as well. Gigiberia argued that the attack was a clear indication of how the Russian peacekeepers "fulfill their responsibilities and obligations." "How can a hungry soldier be a peacekeeper?" he asked.

Poti port director Alan Middleton would not confirm or deny that the peacekeepers stole goods or humanitarian aid other than American military Humvees destined for European bases. According to Georgian news reports, the American government has requested that the vehicles be returned.

Middleton said that while the group of "heavily armed" Russian soldiers did not threaten the port staff, they had Georgian prisoners in tow and blew up "a small naval vessel." Work at the port, he claimed, has since returned to normal.

In August 20 remarks on the Russian news program Vesti, the Deputy Chief for the Russian Armed Forces, Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, stated that the Georgian soldiers had been arrested for moving around Poti "without orders."

The Russian general had earlier stated that a "more intensive" stage of the withdrawal from Georgia would start on August 22, in conjunction with the destruction of "arsenals, especially ammunition" that Moscow contends could be used to disrupt their peacekeepers' work. Other materiel, including tanks and armored vehicles, "we will use ... as we please," Nogovitsyn said.

The general did not address how the raid on Poti's port fit into that withdrawal plan. Within Georgia, the incursion has been seen as additional proof that Russia has little intention of fully withdrawing from Georgia.

The August 19 assault on Poti's port, Georgia's largest, was the second since the start of the conflict. On August 9, one day after the start of hostilities, Russia bombed the port and its immediate surroundings. Port authorities say that at least eight people were killed in the raid, though the port infrastructure itself escaped with minimal damage.

Western Georgia has become a second front during the 11-day old conflict. Russian peacekeepers and soldiers entered the western part of the country from the Abkhazian conflict zone and now occupy a few cities in the Samegrelo region, including Zugdidi and the Senaki military base.

Russian troops have made several trips to Poti from the Senaki base, according to Gigiberia, although he noted that "happily" they have largely ignored the civilian population. The city, he noted, does not face food shortages since it is supplied by goods from the southern Georgian port of Batumi and Turkey.

Poti's central market was reportedly working on August 20, as well as local stores.

Yet despite a veneer of normalcy, much of life in west Georgia – particularly in the villages of Guria, the region adjacent to Samegrelo – is defined by daily rumors and unverified news reports of massive looting and criminal acts allegedly by Russian troops.

In the village of Supsa, the terminal point of an oil pipeline from Baku, basic necessities like diapers are scare since few villagers are willing to travel to Poti, the nearest commercial center, to restock their supplies. Reports of Russian armored vehicles cruising the coastal highway running between Batumi and Poti have had a chilling effect on local residents.

Withdrawal agreement or not, the Russian military operates unhampered by local or national authorities. "If they come back [to the port], they just come back," said Middleton, the port director. "They can do what they want at the moment."

Editor's Note: Molly Corso is a freelance reporter currently based in west Georgia.