Up In Flames Humanitarian Law Violations and Civilian Victims in the Conflict over South Ossetia Copyright © 2009 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-427-3 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA Tel: +1 212 290 4700, Fax: +1 212 736 1300 [email protected] Poststraße 4-5 10178 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 30 2593 06-10, Fax: +49 30 2593 0629 [email protected] Avenue des Gaulois, 7 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: + 32 (2) 732 2009, Fax: + 32 (2) 732 0471 [email protected] 64-66 Rue de Lausanne 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 738 0481, Fax: +41 22 738 1791 [email protected] 2-12 Pentonville Road, 2nd Floor London N1 9HF, UK Tel: +44 20 7713 1995, Fax: +44 20 7713 1800 [email protected] 27 Rue de Lisbonne 75008 Paris, France Tel: +33 (1)43 59 55 35, Fax: +33 (1) 43 59 55 22 [email protected] 1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +1 202 612 4321, Fax: +1 202 612 4333 [email protected] Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org January 2009 1-56432-427-3 Up In Flames Humanitarian Law Violations and Civilian Victims in the Conflict over South Ossetia Map of South Ossetia ......................................................................................................... 1 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 2 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 2 Brief Chronology of the Armed Conflict ............................................................................ 5 Violations by Georgian Forces ......................................................................................... 6 Violations by Russian Forces ........................................................................................... 7 Violations by South Ossetian Forces ............................................................................... 9 Use of Cluster Munitions ............................................................................................... 10 International Responses to the Conflict ......................................................................... 11 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 13 Part 1: Background 1.1 Background on South Ossetia ..................................................................................... 16 1991-92 Conflict in South Ossetia .................................................................................. 16 2003-06: New Leadership in Georgia, New Agenda for Recovering South Ossetia .......... 18 2006-08: Tensions Rise between Russia and Georgia ................................................... 20 The Lead-up to the August 2008 War ............................................................................. 21 The Fighting and Immediate Political Aftermath ............................................................ 22 1.2 International Legal Framework .................................................................................... 27 International Humanitarian Law Governing Hostilities ................................................... 27 Basic Principles of International Humanitarian Law ...................................................... 29 Individual Criminal Responsibility ................................................................................. 31 Position of Peacekeepers under International Humanitarian Law .................................. 32 Law on Occupation and Effective Control ....................................................................... 33 Right to Return ............................................................................................................... 35 Part 2: Violations by Georgian Forces 2.1 Overview ..................................................................................................................... 38 2.2 Indiscriminate Shelling of Tskhinvali and Outlying Villages .........................................41 Tskhinvali ...................................................................................................................... 41 Civilians Killed in Shelling ............................................................................................ 46 2.3 Attacks by Georgian Forces on Civilians Fleeing the Conflict Zone ............................... 53 Attacks on vehicles and international humanitarian law ................................................ 55 2.4 Georgian Forces’ Ground Offensive ............................................................................. 57 The Conduct of Georgian Troops during the Ground Offensive ....................................... 61 2.5 Georgia’s Use of Cluster Munitions ............................................................................. 64 How Georgian Clusters Landed in Gori District .............................................................. 66 Civilian Casualties from M85s ....................................................................................... 66 2.6 Russian Allegations against Georgia of Genocide and Other War Crimes ..................... 70 Political Statements and Russian Criminal Investigation ............................................... 70 Russia’s Allegations Not Supported by Available Evidence ............................................ 71 2.7 The Issue of Civilian Casualties in South Ossetia ......................................................... 74 Early Figures from Russian and South Ossetian Officials not Borne out .......................... 74 Erroneous Georgian Figures for South Ossetian Civilian Casualties ............................... 76 Human Rights Watch and Casualty Figures ................................................................... 76 2.8 Georgian Detentions and Ill-Treatment of Ossetians ................................................... 79 Ill-Treatment at the Time of Arrest .................................................................................. 81 Conditions of Detention ................................................................................................ 84 Possible Enforced Disappearance ................................................................................. 85 Part 3: Violations by Russian Forces 3.1 Overview ..................................................................................................................... 87 3.2 Aerial Bombardments, Shelling, and Artillery Attacks ................................................. 89 Attacks on Ethnic Georgian Villages in South Ossetia ................................................... 90 Attacks in Undisputed Georgian Territory ...................................................................... 93 3.3 Russia’s Use of Cluster Munitions ............................................................................. 103 Evidence of Russian Cluster Use .................................................................................. 104 3.4 Tank Attacks on Civilian Homes ................................................................................. 114 3.5 Attacks by Russian Forces on Civilians Fleeing the Conflict Zone ................................ 115 3.6 Pillaging, Destruction, Violence, and Threats against Civilians ................................. 120 3.7 Russia’s Responsibility as Occupying Power ............................................................. 123 In South Ossetia .......................................................................................................... 124 In Gori District ............................................................................................................. 126 Part 4. Violations by South Ossetian Forces 4.1 Overview .................................................................................................................... 127 4.2 Attacks on Georgian Civilians and Their Villages in South Ossetia ............................ 130 Looting and Burning of Villages ................................................................................... 130 Alleged Extrajudicial Killings in the Course of Village Burnings .................................... 142 Some Ossetian Villagers Not Immune from Looters ...................................................... 143 Situation in Akhalgori District ...................................................................................... 147 Position of de facto South Ossetian Officials toward Looting and House Burning ......... 151 The Displaced Georgian Population’s Right to Return .................................................. 152 4.3 South Ossetian Abuses in Undisputed Georgian Territory .......................................... 154 Summary Executions ................................................................................................... 154 Rape ............................................................................................................................ 159 Abductions .................................................................................................................. 162 Pillage and Destruction of Civilian Property ................................................................. 163 4.4. Execution, Illegal Detentions, Ill-Treatment, and Degrading Conditions of Detention by Ossetian Forces, at times with Russian Forces ................................................................