The World - News from July 16, 1989

Several people were injured in the Soviet Black Sea resort of Sukhumi as Georgians fought Abkhazians in the latest outbreak of ethnic violence in the Soviet Union. “People were taken to the hospital, but we do not yet know how many,” a police official said. Tensions have been running high for several months between Georgians and Abkhazians, who form roughly equal numbers in the autonomous republic of Abkhazia. Last April, 20 people were killed when police broke up nationalist demonstrations in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi after Georgians were angered by Abkhazian secessionist demands.