Abkhazia says it shot down spy planes

SUKHUMI, Georgia (AP) — Two unmanned Georgian spy planes were shot down today over the country’s breakaway region of Abkhazia, an Abkhazian official said.

Ruslan Kishmaria, a representative of Abkhazia’s president, said the two planes were shot down by Abkhazian anti-aircraft forces. Authorities were searching for fragments of the planes, he said.

A Georgian Foreign Ministry official, Maka Gigauri, dismissed the claims as “completely absurd disinformation” aimed at increasing tension in the area.

The tension between Georgia and Russia, which has close ties to Abkhazia, has escalated since Georgia accused Moscow of shooting down its pilotless reconnaissance plane over the region two weeks ago.

Russia denied involvement and separatist Abkhazian officials said their forces shot down the plane.

Russia is strengthening its support for Abkhazia and another Georgian separatist region, South Ossetia, as Georgia’s U.S.-allied President Mikhail Saakashvili pushes for NATO membership for his country.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia seek either independence from Georgia or absorption into Russia.

Georgia is strategically located on an key westward route for Caspian Sea oil and gas riches.