Georgian, Russian and South Ossetian forces committed numerous violations of the laws of war in the conflict in August 2008 over South Ossetia and its aftermath, causing many civilian deaths and injuries and widespread destruction of civilian property according to a Human Rights Watch report released today.
The 200-page report, “Up in Flames: Humanitarian Law Violations [...]

Tags: Georgia, Russia

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Russian authorities should take immediate steps to stop South Ossetian militias from attacking ethnic Georgians in Akhalgori district in South Ossetia. Russia should also ensure that local residents remain able to move freely to and from the rest of Georgia.
“South Ossetian militias are running wild attacking ethnic Georgians in Akhalgori,” said Tanya Lokshina, deputy director [...]

Tags: Georgia, Russia

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One hundred days after the August conflict, over 20,000 ethnic Georgians are still unable to return to their homes in South Ossetia, while many of those, on both sides of the conflict, who have gone back have found their homes pillaged or destroyed.
“A new twilight zone has been created along the de facto border between [...]

Tags: Georgia, Russia

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Georgian Clusters Landed in Villages; Russian and Georgian Duds Still a Threat
Georgian cluster munitions fired in the conflict with Russia in August 2008 caused more damage and hit more locations than previously commonly reported, Human Rights Watch said today in a presentation to the Convention on Conventional Weapons in Geneva. Explosive remnants from the weapons, [...]

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International Meeting on Conflict to Start October 15
The European Union should emphasize the right of all people to return to their homes in Georgia at this week’s talks on the recent conflict over South Ossetia, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch also urged the EU to expand the mandate of its observer mission [...]

Tags: EU, Georgia, Russia

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As European Union monitors take up their posts in Georgia, ongoing security concerns, unexploded ordnance from the 7-13 August Georgia-Russia conflict and the large scale destruction of property in some parts of the conflict area continue to undermine the right of tens of thousands of people to return to their homes.
“Shootings, looting and ethnically motivated [...]

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Allegations of Execution, Torture in South Ossetia
Russia should immediately investigate allegations of extrajudicial execution, torture, and other abuse of Georgian military and civilian detainees by Ossetian forces during the recent conflict in Georgia.
In interviews with former Georgian military detainees, Human Rights Watch has documented at least one extrajudicial execution of a Georgian soldier in detention, [...]

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In Security Vacuum, Frequent Attacks and Pervasive Fear
The European Union observer mission scheduled to move into areas near South Ossetia must be given both a mandate and adequate resources to protect civilians, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch researchers in Georgia in recent days have documented numerous attacks by Ossetians against civilians in [...]

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On August 21, 2008, Human Rights Watch reported a series of attacks with cluster munitions around four towns and villages in Georgia’s Gori district. Human Rights Watch attributed all the strikes to Russian forces, but upon further investigation has concluded that the origin of the cluster munitions found on August 20 in two of the [...]

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Government Acknowledges Using Weapon Against Russian Forces
The Georgian government said it used cluster munitions during the August 2008 armed conflict with Russia, Human Rights Watch said today. In a letter to Human Rights Watch, the Georgian Defense Ministry stated that cluster rockets were “used against Russian military equipment and armament marching from Roki tunnel to [...]

Tags: Georgia, Russia

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