One has to wonder, what was a vice colonel of the Russian military doing in the Georgian forests, organizing and leading a group of armed insurgents on a mission of subversion and violence?".

[10] Abkhazia had accused Georgia of attempting to instigate a full-scale military conflict in order to destabilize the region in the wake of the 2014 Winter Olympics, which are to be held in nearby Sochi.

The Abkhaz authorities had earlier warned, that they reserved to themselves the right to undertake measures at any time to gain control of the Upper Kodori Valley.

Responding to Saakashvili's allegations, Vitaly Churkin, the Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations, stated, that the killed men were instructors at an "anti-terrorist training centre" and died from head gunshots and knife wounds.

[13] The Secretary-General of the United Nations expressed his concern with regard to the incident and called on all sides to exercise maximum restraint and to prevent any further escalation of the situation.

[14] From September 21 to October 8, the team had visited the Bokhundjara area, interviewing a number of witnesses and participated in the autopsy of the two men, who died in the shootout.