August 14 marks 34 years since the start of hostilities in Abkhazia.

In memory of those who died for the territorial integrity of Georgia, citizens and veterans have been visiting the Memorial to the Heroes of the Struggle for the Unity of Georgia since morning.

On August 14, 1992, by decision of the State Council of Georgia, headed by Eduard Shevardnadze, units of the Georgian Armed Forces were deployed to Abkhazia to restore order on the railway. When the Georgian units entered Abkhazia, the so-called Abkhazian Guard, illegally created by the Chairman of the Supreme Council of Abkhazia, Vladislav Ardzinba, opened fire on a Georgian unit at a traffic police checkpoint in the village of Okhurei, Ochamchira district.

The main phase of hostilities in Abkhazia, which began on August 14, lasted 13 months and 13 days and ended with the fall of Sokhumi on September 27, 1993. In addition to Abkhazian units, volunteers from the North Caucasus, Cossacks mobilized by the Russian government, and various units of the Russian Armed Forces took part in the operation to capture Sokhumi.

As a result of the war, about 300 thousand people, mostly Georgians, had to leave the territory of Abkhazia. About 10 thousand people died in the hostilities on the Georgian side, both soldiers and civilians.