Gamsakhurdia killed himself - official

Tbilisi - Zviad Gamsakhurdia, the ousted president of Georgia, killed himself on Georgian territory, a team of investigators said yesterday, according to the Interfax news agency. The finding came after leading officials, including Eduard Shevardnadze, the Georgian leader, expressed doubts about Gamsakhurdia's reported suicide, and suggested that he had been murdered by associates.

Mr Shevardnadze sent investigators to Grozny, capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, to find out if his arch-rival was really dead. Gamsakhurdia had lived in Grozny since he was ousted two years ago. Interfax said the team identified two witnesses to Gamsakhurdia's death but was prevented from interviewing them by the president's family. Reuter