1991–1992 South Ossetia War

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=1991–1992 South Ossetia War
(Georgian-Ossetian conflict)
partof= the Georgian Civil War


caption=Location of South Ossetia within Georgia
date= January 5, 1991 - June 24, 1992
place=South Ossetia, North Georgia
casus=Ethnic land dispute between Ossetian and Georgians
territory=South Ossetia becomes a de facto independent republic, but internationally recognised as part of Georgia
result=Division of the region into Georgian- and Ossetian-controlled parts
combatant1=
combatant2=
strength1=
strength2=
casualties1=~800 dead
Unknown wounded
casualties2=~2000 dead
Unknown wounded
notes=The 1991–1992 South Ossetian War was fought as part of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict from 1991 to 1992 between the Georgian government forces and ethnic Georgian militias on one side and South Ossetian secessionists and North Ossetian volunteers on the other, with sporadic involvement of the Russian military units. The war ended through a Russian-brokered ceasefire that established a joint peacekeeping force and left South Ossetia divided between the rivaling authorities.

The War

On the night of 5 January 1991, Georgian forces entered Tskhinvali. The Ossetian militants responded by firing at Georgian schools and houses in the city, while Georgians attacked Ossetian villages. The fighting in Tskhinvali first resulted in a divided town: An Ossetian-controlled western part and a Georgian-controlled eastern part. Towards the end of January, the Georgians withdrew to the hills around the city according to the Russian-mediated ceasefire.

On 29 January 1991, the Speaker of the South Ossetian Supreme Soviet, Torez Kulumbegov was invited to the negotiations in Tbilisi, but was immediately arrested and charged with inciting ethnic hatred. His trial had been postponed several times before he was released in December 1991.

The most intense period of war was in March and April 1991, after a period of relative calm in July and August, violence resumed in mid-September. Georgia imposed economic blockade on the rebel region: It disconnected electricity supplies to Tskhinvali and blocked the road by which the city received food and other products. The Ossetians blockaded Georgian villages and several atrocities occurred on both sides. The fighting left hundreds killed and wounded, many South Ossetian villages were attacked and burned down as were Georgian houses and schools in Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia. As a result, approximately 1,000 died and about 100,000 ethnic Ossetians fled the territory and Georgia proper, most across the border into North Ossetia. A further 23,000 ethnic Georgians fled South Ossetia and settled in other parts of Georgia. [ Human Rights Watch/Helsinki, [http://hrw.org/reports/1996/Russia.htm RUSSIA. THE INGUSH-OSSETIAN CONFLICT IN THE PRIGORODNYI REGION] , May 1996.] Georgian forces sat in the hills around Tskhinvali and besieged the city. Other fighting took place around the city in the nearby villages and along the road to North Ossetia.

In February 1992, with sporadic Russian involvement, the fighting escalated. Georgian authorities claimed Russian generals supplied the Ossetian militias. Most independent observers agreed with that commanders of the Russian Interior Ministry Forces were actually involved in the conflict.Fact|date=August 2008 Russian officials including the Chairman of the Russian Supreme Soviet, Ruslan Khasbulatov and President Boris Yeltsin made statements supporting the Ossetians.Fact|date=August 2008

In the face of inner instability following the military coup against President Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Georgia agreed to the negotiations to avoid the confrontation with Russia.

References

External links

* http://www.caucasus.dk/chapter4.htm
* http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav110404.shtml
* http://www.mfa.gov.ge/news.php?newsid=updates/EEpFVVEZEEGOWuWwJQ.php
* http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/3797729.stm