11:32, 5 May 2005

Deserters may be sued

The Georgian Defence Ministry says the 14 Armenians who deserted the army (the twelve mentioned in an earlier report and another two who joined them later) will be sued unless they voluntary return to their military unit, according to Regnum news agency.

The chiefs of the Akhaltsikhe battalion the deserters serve in deny charges of discrimination on an ethnic basis and point out that other ethnic Armenians in the battalion make no grievances. The command believes what happened resulted from the wish of the deserters, who live in Akhalkalaki and agree to serve in a unit there, to be transferred to a place of service closer to their homes.