Member Of Parliament Abkhazia Georgia Shot Dead By His Colleague

PIXABAY ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - A lawmaker in Abkhazia, an area breaking away from Georgia, was shot dead by other lawmakers.

MP Vakhtang Golandzia died of the injuries he suffered in the shooting at the parliament building, said the president's acting press office, Badra Gunba. Another member of parliament was injured in the arm.

Reported by Reuters on Thursday, December 19, Abkhazia news agency, Apsnypress, said the interior ministry identified a lawmaker named Adgur Kharazia as a suspect in the shooting.

He fled the scene. There is no information about the motive for the shooting.

Abkhazia escaped control of Georgia in the war after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, which caused hundreds of thousands of ethnic Georgians to flee.

Russia has long supported Abkhazia and other breakaway Georgian territory, South Ossetia.

Abkhazia fell into crisis last month when protesters stormed parliament opposing an investment agreement with Russia, which forced the president of the region,men's Bzhania, to resign.

His vice president, Gunba, became a temporary leader.