A Russian news agency quoted Wednesday the wife of ousted Georgian leader Zviad Gamsakhurdia as saying her husband killed himself after being surrounded by his enemies in western Georgia.
The report could not be immediately confirmed.The Interfax news agency quoted Manana Gamsakhurdia as saying by telephone that her 54-year-old husband took his own life Friday.
David Mumladze, an aide to the security minister of this former Soviet republic, said he had heard reports of Gam-sak-hur-dia's death but could not say whether he had been killed or committed suicide.
"According to some information, Gam-sak-hur-dia has indeed died. . . . In any case, we do not believe the version of suicide because we know Zviad Gamsakhurdia," Mumladze said.
He suggested Gamsakhurdia could have been killed by his own supporters to turn him into a martyr. He also said there were reports Gamskhardia had a falling out with his former chief military commander, Loty Kobalia.
Gamsakhurdia was Georgia's first democratically elected leader, but he was ousted in a brief civil war in January 1992 by opponents who accused him of assuming dictatorial powers.
He returned from exile last fall to lead a rebellion in western Georgia against his successor, former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze. But Shev-ard-nad-ze's forces gained the upper hand in recent months, and according to some reports Gamsakhurdia's position had become desperate.
Gamsakhurdia's wife and family are in the breakaway Russian region of Chechnya.