Flag of South OssetiaSouth Ossetia declared its independence in the early 1990s.
In a referendum, 99% of South Ossetian voters supported independence and the turnout for the vote was 95%[8] and the referendum was monitored by a team of 34 international observers from Germany, Austria, Poland, Sweden and other countries at 78 polling stations[9].
Postman Patel's blog (Tamerlane takes a tumble) alerted us to an excellent post on Georgia entitled War Nerdism (Moon of Alabama)
According to Moon of Alabama:
1. On the 8th August 2008, Georgian President Saakashvili launched a massive artillery barrage against the South Ossetian city of Tskhinvali.
Georgia used Grad multiple-launch rocket systems against civilian areas leading to mass casualties.
This was followed by bombings from SU-25 ground attack airplanes.
2. There was a small force of Russian peacekeepers in South Osssetia.
They were attacked by a multi battalion Georgian tank and armored infantry forces.
3. According to Russian sources the Georgian assault killed some 1,500 to 2,000 civilians.
4. Russia reacted by sending in a few extra forces.
While the Russian troops were still on the move, Russia asked the UN security council to condemn the Georgian attack and to call for a cease-fire. The 'western' powers at the security council declined to do so.
5. Russia then decided to send in more of its military.
The Russian Air force attacked military airports, radars, barracks and communication points.
6. Georgian civilian casualties seem to have been light. Russia did not attack economic or civilian installations like electricity plants, pipelines, or major traffic points.
READ THE REST OF THE POST, AND THE COMMENTS, HERE : War Nerdism
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