10 August 2008
Alexander Klimchuk and Grigol Chikhladze
Crossfire
A group of journalists, including Alexander Klimchuk, the owner of Georgia’s sole independent photo agency Caucasus Press Images, who worked under the contract with ITAR-TASS, his colleague Teimuraz Kikuradze, Grigol Chikhladze from Newsweek Russia, as well as the U.S. reporter Winston Faderly, had disappeared in South Ossetia’s capital Tskhinvali far back on Friday.
The news on their destiny emerged only yesterday. Klimchuk and Chikhladze were killed, other journalists were wounded. According to Caucasus Press Images, Klimchuk and Chikhladze had been in South Ossetia even before the start of Georgia’s assault. In time of street fighting in Tskhinvali, they were in the area first controlled by the Georgians and then by the Ossetians.
In darkness, born and grown up in Tbilisi, Klimchuk greeted in Georgian a group of submachine-gunners and got a fire-burst in return. Once the Ossetians realized that they faced the reporters, they delivered the wounded to the hospital in Tskhinvali, which continued to work in a basement because of the shelling attacks of Georgia.
Despite all efforts of doctors, Klimchuk and Chikhladze died of wounds. Other journalists are in Tskhinvali and the condition of Faderly is rather grave.
