Pankisi Gorge

42.11666666666745.266666666667Koordinaten: 42 ° 7 '0 "N, 45 ° 16' 0" E

The Pankisi Gorge (Georgian პანკისის ხეობა ) is an approximately three kilometers wide and 30 kilometers long canyon in the Greater Caucasus. It is located in northeastern Georgia and bordering Chechnya.

Geography

The valley is crossed by the River Alazani. In the north and east lie mountain ranges of the Greater Caucasus, whose peaks towering up to 5000 meters. The floor of the valley is covered by scree. It will be flooded by the river in the spring with the melting water.

Population

The valley is home for several centuries of the boxes, a Muslim ethnic group. They live mainly in the villages Birkiani and Duisi of sheep farming. The animals are driven in the summer in high valleys and brought back in the fall to the valley.

In the First and Second Chechen war in 1994, several thousand Chechen refugees came through the mountain passes into the valley. In addition to old people, women and children, it was also armed fighters from Chechnya. 2002 there lived about 7,000 refugees. Among them was soon joined by arms and drug dealers who used the confusing situation in the border area. There were repeated abductions of Foreign Affairs, who were held for months and were only released for a ransom payment.

Policy

After Russia considers use Chechen Islamist terrorists the valley as a base of operations for terrorist attacks in Russia. On the Russian side, the Georgian- Russian border to the Pankisi Gorge has therefore been mined. Russia repeatedly threatened to pre-emptive strikes in the valley and will be there also entered the Georgian airspace.

Since 1999, about 40 OSCE observers to monitor the border mountain passes to the Pankisi Gorge with helicopters and foot patrols. They are stationed at the base Omalo in the Georgian region of Tusheti. The Georgian government unbolted the valley initially Cordon off, it has then repeatedly subjected to military raids.