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2008 South Ossetian Conflict
Part of Ossetian-Georgian conflict
Location of South Ossetia within Georgia
Date August 1-present Location South Ossetia, North Georgia Status Conflict ongoing
Belligerents
South Ossetia	Georgia
Commanders and leaders
Eduard Kokoity	Mikhail Saakashvili
Casualties and losses
Unknown	10 soldiers killed
~15 civilians killed

The 2008 War in South Ossetia started in August 2008 after days of heavy fighting in the region. On August 7 Georgian troops launched an operation to take the town of Tskhinvali, the capital of the separatist region.

Background

Main article: Georgian-Ossetian conflict

Events

Six people were reportedly killed and 21 injured as a result of one of the most intensive shootouts in years in the South Ossetian conflict zone late on August 1 and overnight on August 2. Both sides have blamed each other of opening fire first. On August 3, the Russian government allowed South Ossetians to begin evacuation into Russia. On the first day, 20 bus-loads of refugees left the country.

Sporadic fighting countinued for every day since that event. On August 6, shootouts increased and Georgia acknowledged it lost an APC during the clashes. After a night of gunfire in which four people died, the shelling resumed at daybreak on August 7. Residents were on the move, evacuating vulnerable areas of the South Ossetian capital. Georgia was reportedly moving tanks, artillery and troops to the border with South Ossetia.

However, at the end of the day, Mikhail Saakashvili ordered an unilateral cease-fire. “A sniper war is ongoing against residents of the villages and as I speak now intensive fire is ongoing from artillery, from tanks, from self-propelled artillery systems – which have been brought in the conflict zone illegally – and from other types of weaponry, including from mortars and grenade launchers,” Saakashvili said in a live televised address made at 7:10pm local time on August 7. Up to 10 Georgian soldiers died in clashes on August 7, the Georgian interior ministry reported.

The cease-fire was broken hours later. Georgia said it was beginning an operation to "restore constitutional order in the whole region." Interfax quoted separatist leader Eduard Kokoity as saying his forces were confronting Georgians in the outskirts of the regional capital, Tskhinvali. "Fierce fighting is under way," he said. "Despite our call for peace and a unilateral cease-fire, separatists continued the shelling of Georgian villages," it quoted Georgian commander Mamuka Kurashvili as saying. "We are forced to restore constitutional order in the whole region." He did not specify the action Georgia planned to take but Tbilisi does not recognize the separatist government and has pledged to restore its control over the province. On August 7, hundreds of South Ossetian refugees crossed the border into Russia. At 00:53 on August 8, Georgian forces began bombing the route along which refugees were being moved. At 02:47, Abkhazian leader Sergei Bagapsh said that volunteers are on the way to help the South Ossetians.

As of August 8, 2008, 4:02 GMT, Russian media reports said Georgia had launched a tank-led attack on the separatist stronghold of Tskhinvali, with at least 15 civilians killed by the shelling. At 04:45, Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Temuri Yakobashvili announced that Tskhinvali was nearly surrounded, and that Georgia controlled two-thirds of South Ossetia's territory. At 04:53, it was announced that an unspecified number of Abkhazian army units had advanced to the border of the arms limitation zone between Abkhazia and Georgia.

According to the North Ossetian president Taimuraz Mamsurov, a number of Sukhoi Su-25 aircraft of the Georgian Air Force attacked what he described to be a humanitarian aid convoy en route from Vladikavkaz. Mamsurov, who had accompanied the convoy and witnessed the attack, was unharmed. Earlier, he told the Interfax news agency that hundreds of volunteers from North Ossetia were heading to the Tskhinvali area. Later, the North Ossetian authorities denied the fact of a reported Georgian attack on the convoy.

Outside reaction

On August 5, Abkhazia's foreign minister, Sergey Shamba, announced that Abkhazia's army may open a second front against Georgia if it launched a full-scale attack against Ossetia.

On August 8 at GMT 4am (7am Moscow Time), an emergency session of the UN Security Council was held to discuss the situation. The session was requested by Russia. The session failed to reach an agreement that would have called on Georgia and the separatists to immediately halt all bloodshed, but expressed its concern over the renewed fighting.

Boris Malakhov, spokesman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that he hoped it was still possible to prevent "mass bloodshed", adding, "It now became clear why the Georgian side was refraining under various pretexts from signing a legally binding document on non-use of force"

Russian envoy Yuri Popov said Georgia's military operation showed it could not be trusted and NATO should reconsider its plans to grant membership to Tbilisi. Popov said, "Georgia's step is absolutely incomprehensible and shows that the Georgian leadership has zero credit of trust." He called Georgia's behavior "treacherous."

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried, however, said it appeared that the South Ossetians were the provokers of the violence. Fried said, "We have urged the Russians to urge their South Ossetian friends to pull back and show greater restraint. And we believe that the Russians ... are trying to do just that."

Russian involvement

At 07:32 on August 8, it was reported that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is in Beijing attending the 2008 Summer Olympics, condemned the "aggressive actions" by Georgia and said that Russia would be compelled to retaliate. At 09:30, it was reported that the Russian president Dmitry Medvedev had convened an emergency session of the government officials to consider a strategy in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone.

At 10:00, Georgian sources reported that the three Russian SU-24 Fencer attack aircrafts flew into the Georgian airspace and dropped two bombs close to a police station near the town of Kareli, which borders South Ossetia. The nearby city of Gori also suffered a brief Russian air strike, with no casualties reported.

By 11:38, the president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili had announced general mobilization of reserve troops amid what he referred to as "a large-scale military aggression" by Russia and called on Russia to stop "bombardment of the Georgian towns".

References

1. ^ Georgia launches operation on South Ossetian capital. France 24. August 7, 2008.
2. Six Die in S.Ossetia Shootout. Civil Georgia. August 2, 2008.
3. Вывезли из-под огня. В Россию прибывают беженцы из Южной Осетии. Channel One. August 3, 2008. Template:Ru icon
4. Georgia Says its Armored Vehicle Blown Up. Civil Georgia. August 7, 2008.
5. Georgia shells its breakaway republic. Russia Today. August 7, 2008.
6. Georgian tanks head for South Ossetia. Russia Today. August 7, 2008.
7. Saakashvili Appeals for Peace in Televised Address. Civil Georgia. August 7, 2008.
8. ^ Heavy fighting in South Ossetia. BBC News. August 8, 2008.
9. Antidze, Margarita. Georgia troops and rebels clash after brief truce. Swissnews.ch. August 7, 2008.
10. Обстановка в зоне грузино-осетинского конфликта накалена до предела. Channel One. August 7, 2008. Template:Ru icon
11. Грузинская сторона обстреливает дорогу, которая ведет из Цхинвали в РФ. RIA Novosti. August 8, 2008. Template:Ru icon
12. Abkhazian volunteers hurry to help SOssetia - president. Itar-Tass. August 8, 2008. Accessed on: August 8, 2008.
13. Tskhinvali almost surrounded - Georgian official. Itar-Tass. August 8, 2008.
14. Abkhazian army units advance to arms limitation zone with Georgia. Itar-Tass. August 8, 2008.
15. "N. Ossetia president: Georgian planes bomb out humanitarian aid convoy for S. Ossetia". Interfax. 2008-08-08. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
16. Hundreds of ‘Volunteers’ Head for S.Ossetia – N.Ossetian Leader. Civil Georgia. 2008-08-08.
17. Глава Северной Осетии не попал под удар грузинской авиации. Lenta.ru. 2008-08-08 Template:Ru icon
18. Абхазия готова открыть второй фронт против Грузии. Korrespondent.net. August 5, 2008. Accessed on: August 8, 2008. Template:Ru icon
19. ^ Reports: UN Security Council to Discuss S.Ossetia. Civil Georgia. August 8, 2008.
20. Совбез ООН отказался осудить Грузию. Lenta.ru. 2008-08-08 Template:Ru icon
21. Georgian troops, warplanes, pound separatists Retrieved on 08-08-08
22. Putin vows retaliation for Georgian action in South Ossetia. AFP. August 8, 2008.
23. Дмитрий Медведев проводит экстренной совещание в связи с ситуацией в Южной Осетии. Kremlin.ru. 2008-08-08 Template:Ru icon
24. Georgia Says Russian Jet Bombed Kareli. Civil Georgia. 2008-08-08.
25. Official: Warplane Drops Bomb Outside Gori. Civil Georgia. 2008-08-08.
26. ‘Most of S.Ossetia Under Tbilisi’s Control’ – Saakashvili. Civil Georgia. 2008-08-08.

External links

• Photos from the conflict
• A warning released by Russia about it
• The notice of the escalating of the conflict
• BBC News about the start of the conflict

• Current events
• South Ossetia
• Wars involving Georgia (country)
• Georgia (country)–Russia relations