Soviet Forces Use Firepower to Seize Georgian Militia Base

Soviet forces backed by tanks and armored vehicles shot their way into an unofficial Georgian militia base and captured it in the early hours Monday, local journalists and politicians said.

It was the first known instance of Soviet military intervention against the Mkhedrioni (horsemen), a well-armed vigilante group formed two years ago on a growing wave of nationalist sentiment in the southern republic.

“There was shooting and they captured the base. Three (Mkhedrioni) people were wounded and the military took them away,” said one journalist in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.

The attackers, wearing masks, stormed the base near Tbilisi in three tanks and 10 armored vehicles, he said.

“Nobody is being allowed in and tanks have blocked the road,” said Valerian Advadze, a Georgian member of the Supreme Soviet.

The Mkhedrioni describes itself as a trouble-shooting force dedicated to keeping the peace. Georgia’s nationalist leaders oppose the group, calling it a destabilizing group armed by the Kremlin to sow trouble.