Russia is again in the headlines, as it crossed the border into Georgia to help the breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, who had been under siege by the Georgian military. The Georgian government simply wanted to restore order in the breakaway provinces that were still officially part of their country.
The Russians on the other hand also wanted to protect the citizens of the disputed provinces, as the majority (around 90%) carried Russian passports. In effect they are Russian citizens and as such they must be protected by the Russian military. Besides, during a referendum previously, 92% of the citizens opted to secede from Georgia.
In 1992, Ossetia and Abkhazia broke away from Georgia and a ceasefire was agreed to prevent atrocities. Russia claimed that the attack of Georgia to the provinces borders on genocide as over 2,000 civilians died in the assault. Meanwhile on the side of Georgia, the military action was an internal matter and outsiders must not interfere.
Thus on August 8, 2008, the Russian military together with tanks and air support rumbled into Georgia, freed the breakaway provinces and destroyed all military installation around the periphery and withdrew. But the withdrawal of the Russian Military was not total, because checkpoints were left at strategic places to discourage retaliation and further buildup of the Georgian Military.
The intention of the Russians may just have been to protect the two provinces, because they have not raised the
Russian Flag that happens to be customary during conquests.
The incursion into Georgia by the Russians is a clear violation, even if it is humanitarian in nature. The rest of the Western Countries condemned the military incursion.
by:
The Flagman
