The US Embassy in Georgia announced it had learned of bomb threats directed at three Tbilisi malls on Wednesday. In response, Georgia’s State Security Service (SSG) said they were a false alarm and urged foreign diplomats to ‘exercise greater responsibility’ in such situations.
An emergency alert appeared on the embassy website’s section of ‘Alerts for US Citizens’, naming three major malls in Tbilisi where it had received information about potential threats: Galleria Tbilisi in the city centre, East Point Mall on Kakheti Highway, and ‘Tbilisi Trade Centre’, likely referring to Tbilisi Mall at the northern entrance of the city.
The embassy advised its staff ‘to avoid these locations until further notice’ and monitor the local news for updates.
‘We will message with additional information when we have it’, the alert read.
The embassy’s warning quickly spread on social media on Wednesday evening, though no evacuations were reported at any of the shopping centres. Mall press offices told local media they were coordinating with the State Security Service (SSG), which had not issued any evacuation instructions.
Shortly after, the SSG issued a statement saying they were responding to ‘another false report’, referring to occasional fake bomb reports that periodically cause disruptions in shopping malls and other institutions across the country. The SSG noted that all necessary measures were being taken to ensure public safety.
The statement included apparent criticism of the US Embassy, urging diplomatic missions in Georgia to ‘respect the work of agencies responsible for security, demonstrate greater responsibility, and refrain from issuing statements without coordination with relevant authorities’.
On Thursday, the US Embassy released a follow-up alert lifting its earlier recommendation to avoid the locations.
‘Georgian law enforcement advised [the] Embassy [in] Tbilisi last night that no explosive devices were located at any of the three malls mentioned [in] the Alert message’, It stated.
Nate Ostiller
