Three UN observers in the republic of Georgia were taken hostage early today on the country's border with the breakaway region of Abkhazia.
A group of eight people, including four Russian peacekeepers, one intepreter and the three UN monitors was seized by unknown assailants.
The Russian troops accompanying the observers raised the alarm after being released.
The intepreter and the UN staff remained in captivity.
Earlier, local officials had reported that eight UN observers were abducted in the Kodorsky Gorge, where they were patrolling the buffer zone which separates Georgian forces from Abkhaz rebels.
