POTI, September 13, 2008 (AFP) - Russian troops on Saturday left their first camp near the strategic port of Poti in western Georgia, in view of the accord concluded on September 8 between Russia and the European Union, an AFP reporter witnessed.

A file of trucks and armored transport vehicles carrying troops left the observation post of Nabada at 7:45 a.m. (0345 GMT). The camp, which included some 70 soldiers, was set up near a Black Sea beach to control maritime traffic from the port of Poti.

'We shall leave soon. To Abkhazia and Russia,' a soldier told AFP several hours ahead of the withdrawal, adding that the convoy would be coordinated 'with other control posts' set up around Poti and Senaki.