2001 Kodori crisis: In the fall of 2001 a group of Chechen fighters, led by the commander Ruslan Gelayev, entered the gorge from the Georgian side, causing a major flare-up in Georgian-Abkhazian relations. The Russian air force carried out air strikes on the fighters and according to the local authorities, around 15% of the population fled their homes and sought refugee status in Tbilisi. Georgia responded by moving troops into the area, a step condemned by Abkhazia and the UN.[5] The Chechens were eventually defeated by Russian and Abkhazian forces.