TBILISI -- Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze vowed Monday to drive out criminals from the remote Pankisi gorge bordering Chechnya after ordering troops into the Caucasus mountains.

"Pankisi will be cleansed of all criminal groups in the near future," Shevardnadze asserted in a televised address.

More than 1,000 troops and police were sent into the territory on Sunday after months of criticism from Russia which said the region was being used by Chechen separatists as a base for attacks.

Russia had threatened to take matters into its own hands with military action unless Georgia moved to restore control over the lawless territory.

"One of our major tasks is to avoid at all cost all losses of civilian life and to guarantee the safety of women, the elderly and children," said Shevardnadze.