U.N. Observers' Helicopter Shot Down TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — An Mi-8 helicopter carrying six United Nations military observers and three crew members was shot down Monday over Georgia's breakaway Abkhazian region, an Abkhazian official said. There was no immediate information on casualties, said a spokesman for the Abkhazian Defense Ministry. Abkhazian officials claim that a group of Chechen and ethnic Georgian rebels have invaded the Khodor Gorge region of Abkhazia in recent days. Georgian government authorities claim no involvement in reported skirmishes there.