[QODLink]
Archive
Blast at mobile phone office in Tbilisi

An explosion has shaken the office of the leading mobile phone company in Georgia, causing some damage but no casualties. 

Last Modified: 14 Dec 2003 10:18 GMT
Mobile phone companies are beacons of suceess in Georgia's bleak economic landscape

An explosion has shaken the office of the leading mobile phone company in Georgia, causing some damage but no casualties. 

The company is owned by the son-in-law of former President Eduard Shevardnadze.

"At 6.30 a.m. (0230 GMT) there was an explosion outside the office of Magti mobile company. No one was injured but windows around the office were broken," Tamaz Getia, prosecutor for the region of Tbilisi where the blast occurred, told Reuters.

Shevardnadze quit last month after opposition supporters massed in the capital, Tbilisi, in what they called a "velvet revolution", accusing his allies of cheating them of victory in parliamentary elections.

Georgia was torn apart by civil war after gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

It has avoided bloodshed since Shevardnadze quit, although there have been a number of blasts in the capital - including an earlier one outside the Magti GSM office four days ago.

Mobile operators are islands of success in the collapsing Georgian economy, which is dominated by shadow trade and plagued by corruption.

Source:
Reuters
Topics in this article
People
Country
City
Featured on Al Jazeera
An interactive dashboard examines the history, successes and challenges facing the group.
Series on the Palestinian 'catastrophe' of 1948 that led to dispossession and conflict that still endures.
Fallout from rare strike at Arabtec Construction continues.
A four-part series that gives a rare insight into the country on the move, with history in tow.
Featured
An interactive dashboard examines the history, successes and challenges facing the group.
A four-part series that gives a rare insight into the country on the move, with history in tow.
News and analysis of 2013 presidential contest as Ahmadinejad finishes second term.
Fallout from rare strike at Arabtec Construction continues.
Two years since the start of the uprising, rebels and Assad's forces remain locked in conflict.
join our mailing list