Iberia TV Releases Video of Georgian Pilot Captured by Congolese Rebels

The Georgian channel Iberia TV has released a video of a Georgian pilot, Soso Osurauli, who was captured by Congolese rebels this January. In the video the pilot addresses his family members and asks them not to believe the accusation that he killed many people.

“Please, do not worry, everything will be all right. Bring up my children. I love and miss you all very much,” Osurauli says.

Beka Dvali, Ambassador of Georgia to South Africa says that the video is old and it was taken around two months ago. “This is not a new video. The family has seen it a few months ago,” he said.

The ambassador called on everyone to be careful and realize the sensitivity of the issue. “We all should be careful in order not to hinder the process that will help us to find out information about our compatriot,” Dvali added.

He emphasized  that the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MFA) of Georgia is using all possible diplomatic resources along with the United Nations, the Red Cross and the relevant agencies of the Democratic Republic of Congo to obtain any information about the Georgian citizen. On May 24, the Georgian MFA stated that there had been a serious confrontation between the governmental and rebel forces in the Congo and presumed that Osurauli might be dead. However, the MFA says that no official information has been released by the Congolese yet.

The ministry called on Georgian citizens currently residing in the Congo to leave the country immediately and advised others not to travel there.

Georgia’s Ministry of defense said in February that Osurauli is a former Georgian serviceman who left the Georgian Armed Forces in 2015 and was working in Congo on a private contract. The Georgian pilot was captured by rebels on January 27, 2017. Another Georgian was also with Osurauli during the incident. The second pilot was injured but, as Georgia’s MFA reports, he was treated in eastern Congo and is now safe.

By Thea Morrison

Photo source: 1tv.ge