Man blows himself up at TV centre in AbkhaziaOctober 17, 2016 - 16:50 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - An unidentified man on Monday, October 17 blew himself up at the state-owned TV centre in Abkhazia, a tiny Russian-backed breakaway region of Georgia, local officials said, according to AFP. "A man blew himself up on the territory of the TV centre. It was obviously clear that he had a bomb," Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted Abkhaz interior minister Aslan Kobakhiya as saying. Interfax news wire reported that the blast occurred at the entrance to the TV station's headquarters in the Abkhaz capital Sukhumi. It cited the separatist region's emergency services ministry as saying the "corpse of a bearded man" was found at the scene. Investigators were probing the incident and the Abkhaz president Raul Khajimba insisted that it was "too early to talk about an attempted terrorist attack." "Let's wait for the results of the investigation. We have not even managed to identify the man who blew himself up," Khajimba, a former officer in the Soviet-era KGB spy agency, told Interfax. As a precautionary measure Khajimba ordered security around public places, including schools and kindergartens, in the Black Sea region of some 250,000 people to be stepped up, AFP says. Abkhazia has claimed independence from Georgia since an armed conflict in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia recognised the region as independent following a brief conflict with Georgia in 2008 over another breakaway region, South Ossetia, and has thousands of troops stationed there. Georgia insists that the two regions are under de facto Russian occupation. Abkhazia has seen a protracted political standoff between the region's self-declared authorities and its opposition since former leader Alexander Ankvab was ousted in 2014. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia provides info about arrested Armenian ex-MP Russian law enforcement agencies have provided information about the arrest of Tigran Urikhanyan. Lemkin Institue slams Pashinyan's “cryptic engagement with Genocide denial” The Lemkin Institute is alarmed over Pashinyan’s statements “questioning Armenia's legal basis to pursue justice against Turkey”. 41 detained as antigovernment protests continue in Yerevan 41 people were detained in Yerevan as people demanding Pashinian’s resignation stage campaigns of civil disobedience. Armenia votes for UN resolution granting Palestine new rights The U.N. General Assembly voted by a wide margin on May 10 to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine. |