President posthumously awards 73 heroes of Abkhazia war

The President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili has awarded 73 soldiers of the Abkhazia conflict posthumously for their courage, heroism and devotion to protect state sovereignty and integrity.

Orders of Vakhtang Gorgasali I,II and III have been handed to the families of the late soldiers.

After all these years I want to thank the people; to thank them for their devotion. The first years of George’s independence were particularly complicated and we had to immediately fight for our territorial integrity.

The president thanked the families of heroes. Photo by the president's press office. 

At that time there were no state institutions, but we had people who were ready to die for the homeland.  The people were united over their love of Georgia,” Margvelashvili said.

The president thanked the families of the deceased soldiers for their part in creating modern Georgia.

The armed conflict in Abkhazia from 1992 to 1993 was fought between Georgian government forces for the most part, and Abkhaz separatist forces, Russian armed forces and North Caucasian militants. The separatists received support from thousands of North Caucasian and Cossack militants and from Russian forces stationed in and near Abkhazia.

The president highlighted the role of heroes in the very hard years for Georgia. Photo by the president's press office. 

Between 13,000 to 20,000 ethnic Georgians and approximately 3,000 Abkhaz have been reported killed, more than 250,000 Georgians became internally displaced or refugees and about 2,000 are considered missing.

Among the missing about 1,500 are ethnic Georgians, up to 200 are ethnic Abkhazians and about 100 are ethnic Ossetians.