Russia Accuses Georgia Over Separatist Area

Russia accused Georgia on Thursday of trying to lure it into the battle over the separatist region of Abkhazia and threatened to use force if incited further.

Tensions have increased between Russia and Georgia over the coastal Black Sea province, where a Muslim minority is fighting for greater autonomy from Georgia.

Fighting in Abkhazia, however, appeared to lessen Thursday, according to reports from the region.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said five civilians were killed and eight wounded Wednesday in an attack on a military sanitarium in the Abkhazian capital of Sukhumi and another against a military laboratory in nearby Eshera.

Sukhumi is held by Georgian troops, and Eshera is controlled by Abkhazian forces.

Russian defense officials said Georgian troops were attacking Russian facilities in Abkhazia to try to provoke Moscow.

“If illegal actions against Russian facilities continue, Russian troops will resolutely take all necessary steps including use of force to stop any provocations,” the ministry said in a statement.

Russian Defense Minister Pavel S. Grachev said the Georgians were using warplanes with Russian markings to attack separatists, the Interfax news agency reported.

Moscow officials insist that the thousands of Russian soldiers still in Georgia are neutral, although they admit that they have fired in self-defense. Georgia claims the Russians have armed and aided the Abkhazian separatists.

Georgian leader Eduard A. Shevardnadze this week described the fighting as a “Russian-Georgian” conflict and said he may order full military mobilization. He asked for a meeting with Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin.

Shevardnadze said during a visit to Sukhumi on Thursday that thousands of Russian “mercenaries and regular army men” were involved in the fighting. He accused Russian troops in Eshera of becoming involved.

“If the (Russian) unit in Eshera doesn’t stop protecting separatists and aggravating the danger of a new offensive on Sukhumi, we can’t guarantee the security of the Russian troops on Georgian territory,” Shevardnadze said.

Andrei Solovyov, a news photographer, said Thursday that he had seen no Russian troops or heavy weaponry in Eshera, although he said many Russian residents of Abkhazia have joined the fighting voluntarily.