Soldiers’ Kin Attacked in Blame Over Georgia Clash, Soviet General Charges

Residents in the Soviet republic of Georgia have beaten family members of soldiers because they unfairly blame the troops for bloody clashes with pro-independence demonstrators, an army general said Saturday.

At least 20 people died in the unrest earlier this month in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. Georgians say the troops attacked a peaceful demonstration with shovels, clubs and harmful gases.

Gen. I.N. Rodionov, commander of the Caucasus military district, said Tbilisi residents are blaming Soviet army soldiers for the clash, and he strongly implied that troops of the Interior Ministry were to blame.

Rodionov, speaking on the evening news show Vremya, said wives and children of soldiers have been beaten and their apartments stoned in retaliation for the crackdown. He gave no other details.