11 Arrested in Clash Between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in the Village of Toria, Javakheti

On August 23, a fight broke out between the residents of the village of Toria in the Ninotsminda region and Azerbaijani newcomers from Tusheti. The conflict arose after the newcomers allowed their sheep to graze in areas belonging to the villagers. Consequently, the villagers expelled the livestock, which led to the altercation.

According to Jnews.ge, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia has launched an investigation under two articles of the Criminal Code, and there are casualties and arrests involved.

One resident of Toria mentioned that they sent a 16-year-old child to inform the newcomers to remove their sheep from their pastures, but the newcomers assaulted the child, triggering the fight. A participant in the clash recounted, “We have a grazing area; we went to check our cattle and saw that Turks were grazing their sheep in our territory. We drove them off, and the argument and fight started from there. Then they gathered a group and attacked us. They arrived in approximately 3-4 vehicles. Although we were numerous, some were working the fields while others stood by. They attacked us with iron and wooden clubs.”

The resident continued, “It turns out that three of ours have been arrested. I do not know if there are any arrests on their side. The fight occurred in the pastures. We want justice and want to clarify who encouraged them to take such actions, to attack the people, they even struck the Georgian border guards.”

According to residents of Toria, 5-6 of their people sustained various injuries, including two minors, who received medical assistance at the Ninotsminda hospital. The villagers stated that previously they had no issues with newcomers from Tusheti, and this is the first serious incident that everyone is now aware of.

The press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that currently, there are a total of 11 arrests from both sides, and an investigation is ongoing. The Ministry has commenced an investigation under subsection "b" and "g" of part one of Article 120 of the Criminal Code, which relates to intentionally inflicting minor injuries, punishable by a fine or corrective labor for up to 6 months, or house arrest from 6 months to 2 years, or up to 3 years of imprisonment with restrictions on weapon usage. An investigation is also being conducted under part two of Article 225 of the Criminal Code, which pertains to organizing, leading, and participating in group violence.

It is worth noting that in the morning, residents of Toria gathered in front of the police station in Ninotsminda demanding the release of three detained villagers.