Troops Dispatched to Tsalka

Civil Georgia, Georgia
May 12 2004

100-strong unit of Interior Troops were dispatched on May 11 to
Georgia’s southern multi-ethnic district of Tsalka.

The move follows clashes between the local ethnic Armenians and
Georgians on May 9. Several people were reportedly injured.

Ethnic Armenians comprise 57% of population of Tsalka district in
Kvemo Kartli region with population around 20,000, according to the
Georgian department of statistics.

4,500 ethnic Greeks, 2,500 ethnic Georgians, up to 2,000 Azerbaijanis
also live in the Tsalka district.

Local officials describe clashes between ethnic Georgians and
Armenians, which have been reported sporadically for several years,
as “a communal violence.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress