On January 9, 1996, a mass rally was held in Zugdidi after six members of the Sanaia family were murdered in the village of Shesheleti, Gali district, by “Abkhaz militants.” Speakers at the rally stated that neither Russian peacekeepers nor UN observers were fulfilling their duties. The protest adopted an appeal to Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, demanding the immediate political resolution of the Abkhazia problem. The Committee for Human Rights and Interethnic Relations of the Abkhazian Autonomous Republic (under Tbilisi’s control) described the Gali killings as genocide of the Georgian population and an attempt to derail the peace process.

The following day, January 10, displaced persons (referred to as “refugees” in the press at the time) held a protest in front of the Russian Embassy in Tbilisi. Demonstrators delivered a statement to embassy representatives accusing Russia of deliberately stalling conflict resolution and engaging in a “double game.”