Adjar Interior Minister Djemal Gogitidze told Interfax on 15 March that 3,000 Georgian troops backed by 12 tanks are poised to invade the autonomous republic, but that Adjar forces are capable of repelling any such aggression. Georgian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Nino Sturua told the same agency the same day that while some army units are on alert, none has been deployed to the border with Adjaria. Georgian State Security Minister Zurab Adeishvili claimed in Poti on 15 March that over the past three years Abashidze has created three special-forces units manned by former criminals with an estimated total strength of more than 1,000 men. Abashidze himself said on 15 March that the Adjar authorities have begun issuing weapons to the population in order not to leave women and children unprotected. Adjar militia forces armed with automatic rifles have been grouping close to the internal border with Georgia. Gogitidze on 16 March estimated the number of Adjar militia deployed at the border at 400 men, backed by several armored personnel carriers. (Interfax)