Head of the Georgian Army dismissed

The head of the Georgian Army has been dismissed after a review of the country’s conflict with Russia in August. Chief of Staff Zaza Gogava was relieved of his duties after the government said “shortcomings” in the military needed to be addressed. A successor has been appointed. Last week, President Mikhail Saakashvili dismissed Georgia’s Prime Minister, Lado Gurgenidze. The President has been facing growing criticism from opposition politicians over his handling of the conflict in South Ossetia.

Russian troops pulled back from buffer zones last month to within South Ossetia and the second breakaway region of Abkhazia, after repelling a Georgian bid to retake the region from pro-Moscow separatists. Tens of thousands of Georgians displaced by the fighting remain homeless.

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