Europe - Georgia - General Information

 

General Conflict Information
Conflict name:	Georgia (South Ossetia)
Type of incompatibility:	Territory
Interstate/intrastate dimension:	Intrastate with foreign involvement
Conflict status:	Terminated: 12 August, 2008
Date of first stated goals of incompatibility:	21 December, 1991
Date of first use of armed force:	22 December, 1991
Date of first battle-related death:	22 December, 1991
Date when conflict reached 25 battle-related deaths:	8 June, 1992

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Conflict Intensity and Warring Parties  

	Conflict intensity	Government of Georgia	Republic of South Ossetia
2008	Minor
Side A:Government of Georgia Side B1:Republic of South Ossetia, Russia
2004	Minor
Side A:Government of Georgia Side B1:Republic of South Ossetia
1992	Minor
Side A:Government of Georgia Side B1:Republic of South Ossetia

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Conflict Summary 

South Ossetia is a region located in the north of Georgia. The region has a history of having autonomy both within the Soviet Union and within Georgia. During Georgia's last years as a republic part of the Soviet Union nationalist movements grew stronger and as nationalist passions intensified politicians like Zviad Gamsakhurdia gained popularity through anti-communist rhetoric and nationalist slogans. In 1990 Gamsakhurdia's Round Table Free Georgia Coalition of pro-independence parties won over the communist alternatives with 54% of the votes in Georgia's first multi-party elections. Gamsakhurdia got support from ethnic Georgians but his nationalism alienated him from the ethnic minorities in the country.

On 9 April 1991 Georgia voted for independence from the Soviet Union and one month later, on 26 May, Gamsakhurdia was elected President with 86% of the votes. Criticism towards Gamsakhurdia increased and tensions grew to armed conflict in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. South Ossetia voted for independence from Georgia on 21 December 1991 and held a referendum on 19 January 1992. On both occasions an overwhelming majority was produced in favour of independence for the region and reintegration into the Russian Federation.

A state of emergency was declared and was, in response to the massing of Georgian government troops, followed by a general mobilisation on 23 December 1991. Hostilities in South Ossetia nevertheless decreased as a result of the recalling of troops from the region for the defence of the embattled Gamsakhurdia in Tbilisi. After Gamsakhurdia's flight to Armenia fighting continued between the republic of South Ossetia and the new government, which came to be led by Eduard Shevardnadze. The new government condemned the independence declaration as an attempt to violate the territorial integrity of a sovereign state, but expressed that it was ready to search for a negotiated solution to the problems in the region.

The two fighting parties made some efforts to reconcile and negotiate an end to the problem, most of the times without progress but a somewhat more permanent solution came in June the same year. A ceasefire and the withdrawal of all armed forces from South Ossetia were agreed on and a peacekeeping force made up of Russian, Georgian and Ossetian troops was established. A political solution to the incompatibility was, however, not reached.

In 2004, the conflict turned violent for the first time since 1992. A new President - Mikheil Saakashvili - had been elected in Georgia, stating that one of his main goals was to restore the country's territorial integrity. A two-pronged strategy was launched, based on the assumption that the de facto South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity had very little democratic legitimacy and popular support and - subsequently - that shifting the population's loyalties ought to be possible. Thus, the Saakashvili government launched a large anti-smuggling campaign, aiming to deny the South Ossetian regime its incomes from the lucrative black market, leaving the local authorities unable to deliver basic services to the population. Simultaneously, the Georgian regime launched a humanitarian offensive, to win the hearts and minds of the citizens.

However, the dual strategy backfired, as the South Ossetian population turned even more anti-Georgian, re-grouping around Kokoity. The situation in the so-called zone of conflict - a circle of 15 km radius from the centre of the de facto South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali - grew increasingly tense, with the number of Georgian troops and road blocks swelled in connection to the anti-smuggling campaign. The South Ossetians perceived this military build-up as a preparation for military action and by July the security situation had deteriorated significantly, with sporadic gunfire exchange between ethnic Georgian and ethnic South Ossetian villages. In August tensions exploded and took the region to the brink of war. For a week there was intense shelling and gun battles between the two sides. There were both civilian and military casualties and the Joint Peace Keeping Force ceased to function, with "peace keepers" from Georgia and South Ossetia fighting each other. However, a cease-fire signed on 18 August took hold on 19 August and through the rest of the year a precarious peace remained in place.

The negotiations between the conflicting parties became deadlocked after the 2004 escalation. The relation between the two sides continued to be tense in the following three years, but only sporadic clashes occurred.

However, in 2008, the violence escalated again. During the first half of the year the security situation deteriorated gradually as the number and intensity of gunfire exchanges increased. After a few clashes between South Ossetian and Georgian troops in the first days of August, tensions culminated on 7 August. Only hours after having declared a unilateral ceasefire, the Georgian President Saakashvili launched a large-scale military offensive on Tskhinvali in order to take control of the city. Neighbouring Russia openly sided with South Ossetia and immediately sent troops, tanks and bomber planes in order to repel the Georgian army. The Russian prime minister Putin justified this step with an alleged "genocide" against the Ossetians, citing highly inflated death tolls. Five days of heavy shelling and ground fighting followed. Finally, the Georgian troops withdrew from the South Ossetian territory and Russian forces took control of areas far beyond the administrative border of South Ossetia. In the areas occupied by the Russian army looting of villages took place, mostly perpetrated by South Ossetian militias.

Mediation by the French president on behalf of the European Union resulted in a six-point peace plan signed by Russia, Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The agreement established a ceasefire and called for the withdrawal of all parties to the positions held before August. It did, however, not address the political status of South Ossetia. A few days later, Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia. The Russian government subsequently signed agreements on military support with South Ossetia and announced that it would keep more than 3000 troops inside the South Ossetian borders. By mid-October, the Russian forces had almost completely withdrawn from the so-called buffer zone adjacent to South Ossetia on undisputed Georgian territory. Instead, the EU deployed 200 observers in this area to monitor the ceasefire. The monitors were, however, denied access to South Ossetia by Russia. The relations between the warring parties remained tense, but by the end of 2008 there had only been very few ceasefire violations.

Under the joint auspices of the EU, UN and OSCE negotiations took place in late 2008 that focussed on security related issues.