Georgian Attacks during Russo-Georgian War

Georgian Attacks During Russo-Georgian War refer to incidents and attacks that Georgia and the Defence Forces of Georgia committed against South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two breakaway states that are largely recognized by the international community as parts of Georgia under Russian military occupation

Before the Russo-Georgian War

South Ossetia

South Ossetian reserves and militia were involved in the fighting. No separate losses among them have been released to date. They were included in the overall count of South Ossetian citizens who died during the war. [1]

January 7

On January 7, Georgian militia attacked Ossetian residents on Oktiabrskaia Street, Ivan Tskhovrebov, a 65 Year old man, was shot in the process, and in a later interview, recalls what he witnessed during the attack:

"Everybody came out of their houses, they watched, as if it were a circus. (The Georgian Militia) shot in the air to frighten people, But the people didn't disperse. Then they started shooting at people. Someone next to me fell. I was shot, The bullet went in and out. When militia started shooting at people, they scattered. Some fell. I spent 10 days in the hospital. There I saw four others wounded. One of them said he was also wounded at Oktiabrskaia Street. I wasn't armed. None of us was armed."[2]

July 3–4

On July 3, a bomb exploded in an Ossetian village. Nodar Bibilov, a leader of the Ossetian militia, was among the casualties. The next day, Georgian forces fired several mortar rounds into the town, killing 3 people and injuring 7.[3]

Georgian attacks along the Black Sea

Georgian soldiers, national guardsmen, and paramilitary forces or militias attacked Abkhazians along the Black Sea. Perhaps the best known militia was the Mkhedrioni or Horsemen. The leader of Mkhedrioni, Jaba Ioseliani, bridged the worlds of crime, culture and politics. His Mkhedrioni engaged in banditry and ethnic cleansing of the Abkhazians. Reports say the Mkhedrioni drove through the streets yelling "Abkhaz! This is Your Death!"[4]

Bokhundjara incident

The 2007 Bokhundjara incident refers to a skirmish that occurred between Georgia and Abkhazia near the border with Georgia. 2 died in the skirmish, 2 were wounded, and 7 were missing. Abkhaz sources reported that the two killed were Russians. [5]

Attacks of May 21

On the day of parliamentary elections in Georgia, footage of a bus explosion in the village of Khurcha, near the administrative border of Abkhazia. Tbilisi says that the separatists opened fire on the residents who moved from Abkhazia to participate in the elections. "We studied this incident and concluded that there are too many issues that cast doubt on the official version. It is strange that the place where the explosion happened is in no way related to the road where the voter had to go to vote," says international observer Oge Borchgrevink.

Attacks opened by Separatists

Following President Saakashvili's orders issued at 11:35 p.m. on August 7 to stop the advance of the Russian regular army from the Russian-Georgian border in the direction of Tskhinvali and to suppress firing positions in and around Tskhinvali from which they opened fire on Georgian villages, peacekeepers, and police, the Georgian Armed Forces on August 8 They start combat operations in the morning. Defense Ministry representative Mamuka Kurashvili tells reporters that the South Ossetian side rejected Tbilisi's decision to unilaterally cease fire and resumed bombing Georgian villages in the conflict zone, and that the Georgian side has decided to restore "constitutional order" in the region. Later, Kurashvili was reprimanded for his statement, which was rejected by Georgian officials, including President Saakashvili. Kurashvili himself said that his statement was impulsive. At 02:37, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Grigory Karasin, calls his Georgian counterpart, Grigol Vashadze, and tells him that the Russian armed forces are starting a military operation in the Tskhinvali region. North Ossetian leader Taymuraz Mamsurov tells Russian journalists that "hundreds of volunteers are heading for South Ossetia." The armed forces of Georgia are establishing control over several villages near Tskhinvali. At 04:10 Russian Ambassador to Georgia Vyacheslav Kovalenko goes to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia and tells Deputy Minister Grigol Vashadze that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia has been removed from the decision-making process and from now on all decisions are made by the General Staff of Russia. By 05:20, the Russian military has passed the city of Java and is heading towards Tskhinvali via the Dzara bypass. At 06:35, Georgian artillery and Su-25 military aircraft launched an attack in the Gupti Bridge area, but this was an unsuccessful attempt to stop the Russian convoy.

Abkhazian forces begin preparations to launch an attack on the Kodori valley. Despite the protests of the U.N Monitoring Mission in Georgia, they are bringing heavy equipment into the restricted weapons zone, which was done in violation of the 1994 Moscow Agreement on ceasefire and separation of forces. In the morning, the Russian 7th Airborne Division stationed in Novorossiysk receives an order to deploy to Abkhazia. At 18:30, the forces of the 7th division board ships to depart for Abkhazia. From 18:00 to 19:00, a convoy of Russian tanks, armored vehicles and trucks approaches Tskhinvali through the Dzary bypass. Russian forces open fire on Georgian forces stationed in Tskhinvali and its surrounding area. Igor Konashenkov, the assistant commander of the Russian ground forces, says that "Artillery and tank units of the 58th Army" opened fire on the Georgian forces in the vicinity of Tskhinvali.[6]

Attacks

August 7–8 (Night)

54 year Old Was dead at Dzara road, that was Trying to Flee to Tskhinvali with her Neighbours. Her Cousin learnt about her Death next day.[7][8]

Start Of The War

The commander of the Russian peacekeeping battalion south of Tskhinvali, Konstantin Timmerman, receives the order to prevent the entry of the Georgian military into Tskhinvali, which he conveys to his subordinates and gives the order to shoot. At around 06:00 Georgian forces, which were heading from the village of Zemo Nikozi to Tskhinvali, opened fire from the base of Russian peacekeepers, which were reinforced in advance by the 10th special forces brigade of Russia, and the coordination of the opening of artillery fire against the Georgians was carried out from the roof of the building located at the base of Russian peacekeepers. The battle resulted in casualties on both sides. From 09:30, the Russian Air Force is bombing the areas of Gori and Kareli districts. Around 11:00, Georgian forces entered Tskhinvali from the village of Zemo Nikozi, local fighters and the Russian Air Force opened fire on them. President Saakashvili announces that Russia has started "large-scale military aggression" and announces military mobilization. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia accuses Georgia of a terrorist attack on Tskhinvali. The Ministry of Defense of Russia declares that it will not allow anyone to insult its peacekeepers and citizens of the Russian Federation. After 14:00, Georgian officials announce that the Georgian military is in control of a large part of Tskhinvali, and between 15:00 and 18:00 they announce a moratorium in order to withdraw civilians from the war zone. [6][9]

References
  1. Jones, Stephen F. (2014-03-14). The Making of Modern Georgia, 1918-2012: The First Georgian Republic and its Successors. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-81593-8.
  2. Watch (Organization), Human Rights (1992). Bloodshed in the Caucasus: Violations of Humanitarian Law and Human Rights in the Georgia-South Ossetia Conflict. Human Rights Watch. ISBN 978-1-56432-058-2.
  3. Toal, Gerard (2017). Near Abroad: Putin, the West and the Contest Over Ukraine and the Caucasus. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-025330-1.
  4. Lieberman, Benjamin (2013-12-16). Terrible Fate: Ethnic Cleansing in the Making of Modern Europe. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-3038-5.
  5. Novostey, Vokrug. "ВОКРУГ НОВОСТЕЙ:В Абхазии убиты два российских офицера". Archived from the original on 2011-08-10. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  6. "Civil Georgia | 2008 წლის რუსეთ-საქართველოს ომის მიმოხილვა: 8 აგვისტო". civil.ge (in Georgian). Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  7. Watch (Organization), Human Rights; Buchanan, Jane (2009). Up in Flames: Humanitarian Law Violations and Civilian Victims in the Conflict Over South Ossetia. Human Rights Watch. ISBN 978-1-56432-427-6.
  8. "Georgia/Russia, Human Rights Watch's Report on the Conflict in South Ossetia | How does law protect in war? - Online casebook". casebook.icrc.org. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  9. "2008 წლის აგვისტოს ომის ქრონიკები". indigo.com.ge (in Georgian). Retrieved 2023-10-12.
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