Murder, rape, and ethnic cleansing during the Georgia-Russia war

Human rights watch has released a comprehensive report about violations committed by Russian, Georgian, and South Ossetian forces during last summer’s war. The NGO, which interviewed more than 400 people during several months of field research, condemns Georgian and Russian forces for indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force. It reports that the Russian army allowed South Ossetian forces, including volunteer militias, to burn, pillage, rape, and murder civilians in a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing. The Russian army participated in this process "either as passive bystanders, active participants, or by providing militias with transport into villages." Russian forces "apparently participated in the execution of two Georgian soldiers," and they did nothing to stop the torture and execution of Georgian soldiers detained by Ossetian forces in an area "over which Russia exercised effective control."

Human Rights Watch