Incident Summary:

02/20/1998: Heavily-armed gunmen seized four United Nations (UN) representatives, their Georgian driver and five other civilians after shelling the UN headquarters in the western town of Zugdidi, Georgia. The Zviadists led by Gocha Esebua, orchestrated the kidnapping in an attempt to negotiate the release of suspects being held for an assassination attempt on the Georgian President on February 9, 1998. The Georgian Government negotiated for the successful release of the kidnapped.

GTD ID:
199802200003

When:
1998-02-20

Country:
Georgia

Region:
Central Asia

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti

City:
Zugdidi

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Hostage Taking (Kidnapping)
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Government (Diplomatic)
Name of Entity United Nations
Specific Description Four United Nations Officials and their driver
Nationality of Target Multinational
Target Type: Private Citizens & Property
Name of Entity Civilians
Specific Description Five Civilians
Nationality of Target Multinational
Additional Information
Hostages Yes
Number of Hostages 10
US Hostages 0
Outcome Hostage(s) released by perpetrators
Ransom No
Property Damage No
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Firearms Unknown Gun Type
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?No
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Zviadists Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Personal claim)
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators Unknown
Number of Captured Perpetrators 0
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 0 Fatalities / 0 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 0
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 0
Total Number of Injured 0
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
“Terrorists release all hostages in Georgia,” Tass, February 25, 1998.
“Kidnappers Behind Assassination Attempt,” AAP Newsfeed, February 21, 1998.
“Kidnappers of UN observers make demands,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, February 21, 1998.