One lawmaker was killed and another was injured in a shooting at the parliament in Sukhumi, in Abkhazia, a separatist region in Georgia, the press service of the president of Abkhazia, Badra Gunba, announced. "Deputy Vahtang Golandzi died after being seriously injured ", the statement says, adding that the other MP Kan Kvarchia was injured.

"The representative of Kvarçia received moderate to serious injuries," said a statement from Badra Gunba's office. The details of the incident and who fired the gun are not known.

Abkhazia, a small region located between the Caucasus and the Black Sea, unilaterally declared independence from Georgia in 1992. It was recognized by Russia, as was South Ossetia, unlike almost the entire international community.

It was recently rocked by protests against an economic cooperation agreement with Moscow, signed in late October, which allows Russian companies to invest in Abkhazia. On November 15, protesters attacked the parliament and the presidential building to prevent the ratification of that agreement.

Because of this, the president of the region, Aslan Bzania, has resigned, as demanded by the protesters. Badra Gunba temporarily holds the office of president until early elections. Opponents of the deal fear that Russians will buy apartments on the Black Sea coast. The sale of apartments and houses to foreigners was banned in 1995 in that region, which has about 240 inhabitants.