organized in Gagra. The estimated total of Armenians participants of the war is about 1,500, a quarter of the Abkhazian army. In September 1993, after fruitless negotiations, the Abkhaz side started an operation against Georgian forces in the Battle of Sukhumi, which was attended by both the Bagramyan Battalion. From 25–27 September, Armenian units marched deep into the city from the village Yashtuha and crawl down the street along the Besletka Chanba River. Armenians first came to the building of the Council of Ministers, the base of authority over the capital. During the storming of the city, Armenian soldiers captured 25 prisoners. After the capture of Sukhumi, the Bagramyan Battalion was deployed in the Kodori Valley, where it was tasked to protect Armenian-populated villages. In March 1994, it began operations to capture the village of Lata. During these final stages, the battalion was commanded by Sergei Matosyan, who was the only Armenian of the war to command Abkhaz troops. After the arrival of peacekeeping personnel, the battalion disbanded. Twenty Armenians were awarded the highest honor Hero of Abkhazia and 242 were killed in battle. The first President of Abkhazia Vladislav Ardzinba praised the high discipline, organization, and accomplishments of the Bagramyan Battalion. The battalion was reported to have been disbanded in 1995 or 1996. Georgian reports claimed it was still active in 1998 when a fire in one of administrative buildings of the power grid in Mziuri shortly before the Six-Day War in Abkhazia (20–26 May 1998) was attributed to the battalion. In 2001 Former members of the battalion later took part in defending the Armenian majority Gulripshi District from the Chechen militant groups of Ruslan Gelayev. See also References Abkhaz–Georgian conflict Military units and formations of Abkhazia