The Georgian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that growing tensions in breakaway Abkhazia’s Gali district, involving kidnappings and violent attacks against locals, “may lead to irreversible consequences.”

“These facts [of crime in the Gali district] clearly indicate that the  situation in the Gali [is worsening] and is not under the control of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, which systematically violates the local population’s basic rights,” a statement issued by the Georgian Foreign Ministry on January 16 reads.

Tbilisi has also called on international organizations and countries involved in the conflict resolution to increase their efforts to help in overcoming the persisting problems in the Gali district.