Mi-8 helicopter that was conveying Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili and deputy chief of the Georgian Armed Forces' General Staff Zaza Gogava was fired upon September 3 above the settlement of Sachkhere (Imereti region). The helicopter was damaged and the pilot had to land in the town of Gori.

Several heavy-caliber bullets reached the helicopter but the pilot managed the flight and landed the aircraft. After landing in Gori the Georgian Defense Minister had a short meeting with journalists. "The Ossetia keeps on saying that the Georgian side violates its air space, but this is absurd. The shots were fired by the Ossetian gangs whose raging will be stopped soon. Ossetia will have to account for the incident and give an appropriate explanation," Okruashvili said.

Meanwhile on Sunday the South Ossetian committee for information and press posted information on its website which said that September 3 in the Znaur region a helicopter belonging to the Georgian Ministry of Interior violated the air space of the South Ossetian Republic. "The pilots of the helicopter did not respond to numerous offers to land or change the route. The violations of the South Ossetian air space become too frequent. During the recent 5 months the Georgian side 240 times violated the borders of the South Ossetian air space," the statement says, reported the Georgian News.