Georgia commemorates 30th anniversary of Abkhazia War, armed conflict in country’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia
Between 13,000 to 20,000 ethnic Georgians and approximately 3,000 Abkhaz have been reported killed, more than 250,000 Georgians have become internally displaced or refugees and about 2,000 are considered missing. Photo: Mike Goldwater.
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Today Georgia is commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Abkhazia War, which ended with the territory becoming a breakaway region of Georgia and leaving hundreds of thousands displaced.
Lia Gigauri, the Deputy Minister of State for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, along with Grigol Giorgadze, the Deputy Minister of Defence and Ruslan Abashidze, the Head of the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia paid tribute to those who had died in the war and laid a wreath at the Heroes Memorial.
The armed conflict began on August 14,1992 when Georgia's Armed Forces aimed to defend the Sochi-Enguri section of the railway and were confronted by Abkhaz armed forces Gvardia, which involved Russian soldiers, under the order of Vladislav Ardzinba, the Head of the Supreme Council of Abkhazia.
In response, the State Council of Georgia sent the National Gvardia [soldier unit controlled by Tbilisi] to Abkhazia to challenge the militant group, which resulted in the confrontation that sparked the beginning of hostilities on the ground.
On July 27, 1993 both sides agreed to the Sochi Agreement on Ceasefire and Separation of Forces, which was violated by the Abkhaz on September 16, 1993, by beginning an attack on Sokhumi.
The Abkhaz-Russian forces started their attack on the building of the Council of Ministers of Abkhazia in the morning of September 27, 1993. They captured and killed Chairman Zhiuli Shartava, Sokhumi Mayor Guram Gabeskiria and 27 employees of the Council of Ministers.
On the same day Sokhumi collapsed and the Georgian Armed Forces lost the fight, leading to the end of the war.
Between 13,000 to 20,000 ethnic Georgians and approximately 3,000 Abkhaz have been reported killed, more than 250,000 Georgians have become internally displaced or refugees and about 2,000 are considered missing.
Georgia’s policy focused on “peace, mutual respect and dialogue” will bring the country “closer to the day” when we continue to build a “united, strong, peaceful, democratic state” along with “Abkhaz and Ossetian brothers”, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Sunday in connection with the 30th anniversary of the Abkhazia War, which ended with the territory becoming a breakaway region of Georgia and leaving hundreds of thousands displaced.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday responded to the recent decision of the de facto authorities in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region to transfer 186 hectares of territory in the Bichvinta resort town to Russia on a 49-year lease by saying that “not only Bichvinta, but the entire Abkhazia and Samachablo (Tskhinvali/South Ossetia region) have been temporarily occupied by Russia”.
An exhibition of previously unseen photographs of public figures taken in Georgia’s Russian-occupied north-western Abkhazia region, and a screening of a film on the province’s cultural heritage have been hosted in Tbilisi as part of celebrations of Abkhazia Day on Monday.
Today Georgia is commemorating the 29th anniversary of the Abkhazia War, which ended with the area becoming a breakaway region of Georgia and leaving hundreds of thousands displaced. In recognition of the date Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that 'historical justice will be restored and Georgia will definitely be united'.
Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday reiterated the importance of peaceful reintegration of the Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions of Georgia in comments marking the 29th anniversary of the fall of Sokhumi, the regional capital of the former, in the 1992-1993 conflict in the north-western region.
The United States embassy to Georgia on Tuesday paid tribute to the memory of those who died during the 1992-1993 war in Georgia’s north-western region of Abkhazia, a territory currently occupied by Russia.
Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday visited the Tbilisi memorial of those who died in conflicts for the territorial integrity of Georgia, as part of events marking the 29th anniversary of the fall of Sokhumi, the capital of Georgia’s north-western region of Abkhazia, in the 1992-1993 war in the region currently occupied by Russia.
The Georgian foreign ministry on Tuesday said there was “no alternative” to the peaceful resolution of the conflict in the country, in remarks marking the 29th anniversary of the fall of Sokhumi, the regional capital of the Russian-occupied region of Abkhazia, during the 1992-1993 conflict in the region.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday hailed his Government's policy of reconciliation and confidence-building between communities affected by the conflict in the country’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region in remarks on Abkhazia Day.
Thea Akhvlediani, the Georgian State Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality, on Tuesday highlighted the unity with Abkhazian compatriots by “common history, culture and traditions” in her remarks on Abkhazia Day.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday said peace was “the foundation upon which a united, strong and developed country should be built” together with the “Abkhazian and Ossetian brothers”, in comments marking the 30th anniversary of the fall of Sokhumi, the capital of the Russian-occupied north-western region of Abkhazia during the war in the region in 1993.
Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday highlighted there was “no alternative to peace”, in comments marking the 30th anniversary of the fall of Sokhumi, the capital of the Russian-occupied north-western region of Abkhazia during the war in the region in 1993.
The top official visited the memorial with Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze and Government officials, the Government press office said.