Russia's envoy to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, has reported to the Security Council that, according to the preliminary results of the UN investigation Georgia was responsible for a shoot-out on the border of its breakaway region of Abkhazia last month, which l

The Russian envoy said he had drawn the attention of the Security Council to what he called “numerous occasions of violations”.

According to the UN investigation of the incident, Mr Churkin said, on September 20 Georgian Special Forces attacked a group of Abkhazians killing two of them and abducting seven.

“The investigation has not been completed but two things are completely clear and certain. Firstly, that the attack happened on the territory controlled by the Abkhazians, so the Georgian Special Forces had no business being there at all. Secondly, the two officers killed were shot at point blank. That makes it clearly a gang-style execution,” Mr Churkin said.

Ambassador Churkin is urging the UN to urgently conclude this investigation and fully punish the perpetrators. He's also calling for the captured Abkhazian guards to be immediately released.

Earlier the Georgian side denied any wrong doing in relation to the incident, claiming an Abkhazian group attacked Georgian guards who were protecting a road-building site in the Kodori Gorge.

Mr Churkin’s announcement was made after Thursday’s meeting, which was aimed at finalising the draft resolution that would extend the UN mission in Georgia for a year.

The UN observer mission in Georgia was established in 1993 to maintain stability in the conflict zone, help prevent escalating tension and facilitate dialogue between the Georgian and Abkhazian sides.

On Monday the resolution will be presented to the Security Council and voted on just as the old mandate expires.