Town Burning for 5 Hours with No Police Response: Victims of Akhalkalaki Disturbances

On August 8, homeowners of burned houses in Akhalkalaki are demanding compensation and expressing dissatisfaction with the law enforcement's response. According to jnews.ge, disturbances erupted in the town following a murder that occurred in the center of Akhalkalaki on Saturday. Relatives of the deceased set fire to four houses and one hotel.

“We were not home; we came back with our children and saw a large crowd gathered, our curtains and doors were burning, and the flames had reached the air. We were all very scared, the children were crying and screaming, it was a terrible situation. The windows were broken, and they had set fire to the inside, preventing neighbors from approaching to extinguish the flames, saying no one should come close until it all burned down. I cannot say whether my husband and his brother were there during the fight,” said Siranush Manasyan, a resident of one of the burned houses.

According to her, the extent of the damage is significant. “Probably just our antiques were worth about 20-30 thousand dollars, we had antique paintings, figurines, the furniture, renovations, expensive sofas—everything was burned and destroyed,” added Siranush Manasyan.

Siranush further shared that the arsonists were so furious that they probably would not have considered if there were people inside the house. “They were so angry that if we had been home, they might not have cared. They immediately broke the windows with big stones. Our three small children came to see what was happening; they are scared, having no night or day, they can’t talk normally or eat. They are really frightened,” said the owner of the burned house on Nalbandyan Street.

Siranush mentioned that when neighbors attempted to extinguish the fire after the arsonists had left, the attackers returned to reignite the flames. By the time the fire service arrived, the neighbors had only managed to save the roof of the house and were working to put that out.

“Who will take responsibility? This was our residential home; we have no roof. We spend one night at one relative's house and the next night at another's. The children cry and say they want to go home, but where can we take them? They are in stress. My sister-in-law is pregnant; she got worse, and we called emergency assistance, but she hasn’t come to herself in a few days,” Siranush highlighted.

On August 8, the apartment of Nara Harutyunyan was also burned down. They were at home but received calls from residents of the city informing them that a group of about 30 people was moving toward their house.

“They burned the house, destroyed everything, didn’t leave anything intact, opened the cupboards, poured gasoline, burned my grandson's toys, and finally cut the gas pipe in the kitchen to make it explode. At that time, they shouted, ‘Boys, get out, it will explode!’ The expert who came saw and was astonished. Thanks to my neighbors, my house didn’t burn down completely; they closed the main gas line,” Nara recounts.

Nara expresses deep dissatisfaction with the police's actions: “I’m not saying the special forces should have come to protect my house, but local police should have come and surrounded my house, yet no one was there. Later I found out they had come, parked more down the street from our house, in their cars with closed windows. The group that was burning down houses moved on foot through the city, which shows no service was operational. Therefore, they probably knew well what they were doing and had some ‘courage’ to come and burn everything,” she added.

Nara Harutyunyan is also displeased with the work of local self-governing bodies, stating, “My house was not only burned; they should have come and asked if we needed help or a place to sleep. Absolutely no one came. I worked hard for my life, I barely managed to escape, and couldn’t take anything, neither my money nor my gold, everything burned. When I call, people are surprised there’s no police around. I called 112 and told them my house was burning, and they said the police weren't there. Later I learned they had gone to burn Revaz Metreveli’s house; I went over and saw the special forces there. I asked why they were there with twenty people and not at my store, which could be burned next, and they eventually came, but they didn’t want to. However, they were told not to burn that area, as there were many other stores, and it would cause even more damage and responsibility for many would be greater,” Nara concluded.

The fire at Nara Harutyunyan's house was extinguished by neighbors; the fire service did not approach. Nara is preparing to hire a lawyer and fight for compensation. “I must hire a lawyer. If this incident goes unpunished, it will become a norm, tomorrow if there’s another fight or issue, they will go and burn everything again,” Nara emphasized.