Country Reports on Terrorism 2007 - Georgia
| Publisher | United States Department of State |
| Author | Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism |
| Publication Date | 30 April 2008 |
| Cite as | United States Department of State, Country Reports on Terrorism 2007 - Georgia, 30 April 2008, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/48196caec.html [accessed 23 May 2013] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The Georgian government improved border security operations and worked to eliminate corruption at border checkpoints, focusing its efforts on stopping the smuggling of contraband, including money, illegal drugs, and all types of weapons (chemical, nuclear and biological) that could support terrorism. There were significant improvements in infrastructure at the major border crossing checkpoints: new facilities were opened at Sadakhlo, an important land border crossing between Georgia and Armenia, which greatly enhanced controls at that port of entry. The Georgian Coast Guard installed a new coastal radar station at Chakvi, improving that facility's ability to guard Georgia's coastline. The U.S.-funded Georgia Border Security and Law Enforcement program facilitated an expansion of Georgia's Passport Identification Registration System to a total of 15 land border, railroad, and airport ports of entry. The land border between Russia and Georgia proper remained closed throughout the year. Border crossings into Russia from the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia operated, but were not under the control of the Government of Georgia. This situation allowed for the unrestricted and unidentified flow of people, goods, and other items from Russia into these regions.
Georgia contributed over 2,000 troops to counterterrorism efforts in Iraq and became a contributing nation to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.
In January, the Georgian government sentenced a Russian citizen from North Ossetia to eight years in prison for a 2006 attempt to sell 100 grams of weapons-grade highly enriched uranium to Georgian undercover agents. In June, radiation sensors at the Red Bridge border crossing detected a load of contaminated metal originating in Azerbaijan, indicating those sensors were operational.
In the Pankisi Gorge in northeastern Georgia, the U.S.-funded Georgia Train and Equip Program (2002-2004) assisted Georgia in regaining control of the area by raising the combat effectiveness of the Georgian armed forces. According to the latest official reports, there were 1300 Chechen refugees in the Pankisi Gorge, down from 7000 in 1999. Anatoly Zabrodin, head of the Border Protection Department of the Russian Federal Security Service, noted publicly that there were no attempts by militants to infiltrate Russia from Georgia in 2007.
