An unknown person fired at the car of Abkhazian President Alexander Ankvab on Wednesday morning, however, the Head of the republic was not injured, said the Interior Ministry of the republic.
The attack occurred on Wednesday morning at 08:25 near the town of Gudauta when Ankvab was going to work in Sukhumi, Chief of State Security Services of the President Anri Bogua said. A remote controlled mine went off as the presidential cortege was making its way to the city, hitting an escort vehicle. A deep crater was formed at the site of an explosion.
After the mine went off, unknown people fired at the car of the president. When the firing started, bodyguards covered the president with their bodies, LifeNews reported. One car was completely burnt out, one of the guards was killed and another was seriously injured.
At present, Ankvab is in his office in Sukhumi. “I haven’t been injured. I have no time,” Ankvab said on the telephone.
Ankvab, who was Abkhazia's interior minister from 1992 to 1993, garnered nearly 55 percent of the vote in the election on August 26, 2011, in the tiny mountainous region on the Black Sea coast which declared independence from Georgia in 1999. Tbilisi continues to regard it as a breakaway region.
This is the fifth assassination attempt on Ankvab in the past five years. Two unsuccessful attacks were carried out in 2005. In 2007 he received slight concussion and a shrapnel injury to the back when his car came under attack from a grenade launcher. In 2009, Alexander Ankvab was injured when his house came under grenade launcher attack, in which he received shrapnel wounds to his arm and leg.
Local observers say the incident may be aimed at destabilizing the situation in the republic before parliamentary elections scheduled for March 10.
On February 9, the nomination of candidates to the national assembly and parliament ended in Abkhazia. 129 initiative groups have been registered in the Central Election Commission. Republican political party, United Abkhazia, nominated 11 candidates, opposition party People's Unity Forum of Abkhazia, 11, the Communist Party nominated 6 candidates and the Party of Economic Development Abkhazia, 6.
Taking into account that 8 candidates are nominated by initiative groups and political parties at the same time, 156 people are going to join the race for the 35 seat parliament.
Ankvab is a supporter of closer union with Russia. He is also known as an uncompromising fighter against corruption and as a very tough politician.
RIA Novosti
