Abkhazia marks Fatherland Defenders Memory Day

SUKHUM -- On this day 18 years ago, troops of the State Council of Georgia invaded the territory of Abkhazia.

The war lasted 413 days and ended with the victory of Abkhazia. Each year in Abkhazia, August 14 is marked as the Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of the Fatherland. The republic considers this war its Patriotic War.

Fresh flowers are laid each year at the Memorial of Glory by representatives of the leadership of Abkhazia, by deputies of the parliament, by members of the public, and by young people and children. They laid flowers at the graves of the defenders of the Fatherland who are buried here. More than 12,000 people took part in combat on the side of Abkhazia.

According to figures from the Ministry of Defense of the republic, more than 2,700 people were killed and more than 5,000 wounded. More than 200 people are regarded as missing in action.

Volunteers from the Northern Caucasus and the South of Russia, and also members of the Abkhaz/Circassian diaspora from outside the post-Soviet region, fought for the independence of Abkhazia alongside its people.