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Annan 'shocked' at reported deadly downing of UN helicopter in Georgia

Annan 'shocked' at reported deadly downing of UN helicopter in Georgia

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan was "shocked" to learn of the reported shooting down of a UN helicopter carrying nine passengers and crew in the western part of the Kodori Valley in Georgia, his spokesman said today.

In a statement, the spokesman said the Secretary-General was "awaiting additional information before commenting further" on the crash, which took the lives of all passengers aboard - four military observers, two local staff and three Ukrainian flight crew from the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG).

According to the spokesman, the helicopter took off on patrol from Sukhumi airport at 8:55 this morning, local time. The reported attack occurred at about 9:20. Both the Abkhaz authorities and the Confederation of Independent States' peacekeeping force informed UNOMIG that the helicopter had been shot down by a missile near the village of Amktel.

The area where the plane went down has been the scene of intensified fighting recently between Abkhazian forces and armed partisan groups in the Kodori Valley.