FACTBOX-Key facts on Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia

(Reuters) - Georgia is preparing to invade its breakaway region of Abkhazia, Russia said on Tuesday, days after Moscow warned it would defend its Abkhaz allies if they came under attack.

Here are some facts about the breakaway region of Abkhazia:

* A Black Sea enclave bordering Russia, Abkhazia was once the favourite holiday destination of the Soviet Union's elite.

* Abkhazia, like fellow rebel republic South Ossetia, refuses to recognise Georgian central rule and fought a war in the early 1990s to establish de facto independence. The 1992-93 conflict killed 10,000 people and displaced 250,000 civilians before Georgian troops were forced out.

* Its population is estimated to be around 200,000, although the exact figure is not known. It has the trappings of statehood with its own flag, postage stamps and a "foreign ministry", but is not internationally recognised.

* On coming to power in January 2004 after a bloodless revolution, pro-Western Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili vowed to make reuniting the country his top priority.

* Tbilisi accuses Russia of backing the separatist regime. A vast majority of residents in Abkhazia have been issued with Russian passports and most trade is with Russia. Separatist Abkhaz leaders say they want eventually to join Russia.

* The majority of people in Abkhazia are ethnically distinct from Georgians. They say they were forcibly absorbed into Georgia under Soviet rule and now want to exercise their right to self-determination.

* Abkhazia and South Ossetia believe Kosovo's independence from Serbia in February created a precedent for them to be recognised universally as independent states.