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Missing Georgian peacekeeper found dead in Afghanistan – defence minister

The minister said he and other top-ranking military had visited Kikadze’s family to convey their condolences

Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

TBILISI, December 30 (Itar-Tass) —— Georgy Kikadze, a serviceman from the Georgian peacekeeping corps in Afghanistan, who has been reported missing since December 19, was found dead on Saturday, Georgian Minister of Defence Irakliy Alasania told hournalists.

According to the minister, the search operation has been conducted by representatives from the Georgian defence ministry and the main staff of the armed forces since the very first day when Sergeant Kikadze went missing. “His body will be taken to Georgian within days, with the assistance from the command of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (ISAF),” Alasania said. “The circumstances of his death will be established after an investigation. The results will be made public later.”

The minister said he and other top-ranking military had visited Kikadze’s family to convey their condolences.

Georgia sent a total of 175 peacekeepers in November 2009. Since October 2012, the Georgian peacekeeping corps in Afghanistan has reached 1,500 servicemen. The majority of them are serving in an extended Georgian battalion under the U.S. command in the Helmand Province, the rest are deployed in Kabul under the French command. Since November 2009, nineteen Georgian peacekeepers have been killed, and 30 have been wounded.

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