Georgian President, Gov’t representatives pay tribute to 20 individuals missing in Abkhaz war

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili and representatives of the Government on Wednesday paid tribute to 20 heroes, whose remains were transferred from Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region, at the public funeral held in the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi.

With joint efforts of the Georgian State Ministry for Reconciliation and Civic Equality and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the remains of six civilians and 14 fighters, who died during the 1992-1993 military conflicts in Georgia's Russian-occupied region of Abkhazia, have been transferred to Tbilisi.

Photo via State Service of Veterans Affairs

Five fighters will be buried with military honours, while the remains of other individuals will be laid to rest at the family cemeteries by the decision of their families, the State Service of Veterans Affairs said.

A total of 601 remains have been found in the last decade, of which 265 have already been transferred to Tbilisi, the Service noted, adding 2,029 military and civilian persons were still missing and the work to locate, identify and return them to their families were ongoing.