Gamsakhurdia Given 4 Days to Get Out : Georgia: New government issues warning as ousted leader tries to rally support in western part of republic.

As deposed Georgian leader Zviad Gamsakhurdia tried to stage a comeback against the forces that violently ousted him two weeks ago, the new government of the mountainous republic Saturday warned him to leave Georgia within four days or be barred from doing so.

“The armed forces of the provisional government control the region where Gamsakhurdia is but will not block his departure,” Tengiz Kitovani, co-chairman of the ruling Military Council, told the Tass news agency. “In three or four days, however, he will not be allowed to leave the republic freely.”

Gamsakhurdia was forced out of power Jan. 6 after a two-week siege that killed more than 110 people and left downtown Tbilisi, the capital of the former Soviet republic, looking like an earthquake zone.

The ousted leader fled to the neighboring republic of Armenia, but on Thursday he returned to Georgia to try to reclaim power from those who forced him out, accusing him of being a dictator.

Gamsakhurdia had returned to his hometown of Zugdidi, in western Georgia, where he has many supporters. But Kitovani said that by Saturday evening Gamsakhurdia had likely moved on to Sukhumi, a resort city on the Black Sea, and is likely to flee Georgia again soon.

Earlier in the day, Gamsakhurdia representatives gave an ultimatum to army units deployed in western Georgia, demanding that they turn over all their arms within 24 hours or else Gamsakhurdia’s supporters would seize the weapons by force, according to the Georgian news service Fakt.

Two army bases on the Black Sea coast were attacked by Gamsakhurdia’s supporters trying to seize arms, according to the Central Television of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Two people were killed in one of the attacks.

Gamsakhurdia’s men were also trying to rally military support for the ousted leader from neighboring republics.

Meanwhile, however, Dzhaba Ioseliani, the other co-chairman of the Military Council, and hundreds of armed men were poised to bring Zugdidi under the new government’s control. They moved into western Georgia on Saturday to act against the attempted comeback by Gamsakhurdia’s supporters.

Although they planned to try peaceful means first, they are prepared to use force to quash any resistance from Gamsakhurdia’s backers.

“Although we have enough military power and arms, we will provide an opportunity to (Gamsakhurdia’s supporters) to avoid fratricidal bloodshed,” Ioseliani said. “The prime task is to explain to the population of the region, where Gamsakhurdia’s influence is particularly great, the inhuman essence of the fascist-like dictator who is prodding civilians, women and even children toward staging provocative actions.”

More than 2,500 Gamsakhurdia proponents tried to march to the city of Kutaisi on Friday, but they were stopped by Kitovani’s National Guardsmen. Several people were wounded, according to acting Prime Minister Tengiz Sigua.

Sigua said that Gamsakhurdia’s attempts to regain control of Georgia would be futile.

“Despite the fact that pro-Gamsakhurdia demonstrations are continuing in Zugdidi, his further activities in Georgia can last no more than one week,” Sigua said.

Sigua said Gamsakhurdia, who was democratically elected president of Georgia last May, should be brought to trial and punished for the pain he caused the republic.

He added, however, that Gamsakhurdia should be given a psychological examination and, if he is found to be insane, he should not be held responsible for his actions.

The interim government is not wasting time initiating its policies to reform Georgia’s economy, which is suffering from the same acute problems that plague all the former Soviet republics.

A resolution that will allocate 2 1/2-acre plots to farmers free of charge was to be signed immediately, Sigua said.

The provisional government also has set up a program to sell state-owned trade and service businesses to private owners starting Feb. 1.