Tbilisi - Georgian authorities moved troops and armoured vehicles onto the streets of the capital, Tbilisi, after President Eduard Shevardnadze narrowly escaped assassination yesterday. Journalists saw an armoured personnel carrier and soldiers in full combat gear arriving at the local television station and officials said other vital buildings in Tbilisi were being put under reinforced guard.
The 70-year-old former Soviet foreign minister escaped unharmed in the grenade and small arms attack on his motorcade. One bodyguard and one attacker were killed in the exchange of fire.
The Interior Minister, Mr Kakha Targamadze, told reporters he had ordered all Georgian borders to be sealed.
Mr Shevardnadze, clearly shaken, later appealed on television for calm and said that "we will not allow chaos and instability, even at the cost of our lives."