War in Abkhazia (1998)

War in Abkhazia (1998)
Part of the Georgian–Abkhazian conflict
Date May 18, 1998 - May 26, 1998 Location Abkhazia, Western Georgia Result Abkhazian victory
Belligerents
Abkhazia	White Legion Mkhedrioni[1] Forest Brotherhood
Commanders and leaders
Sergei Bagapsh	Zurab Samushia Dato Shengelia Gujar Kurashvili
Strength
1,500 troops[2]	400 guerrillas
Casualties and losses
8 killed, 17 wounded (confirmed by Abkhazia),[3] at least 300 killed and dozens wounded (per Georgian sources)[4]	17 killed[4] 24 wounded 56 captured 6 missing (per Georgian sources), about 160 killed (Abkhazian sources)[3]
35 Georgian civilians killed, 30,000 - 40,000 displaced[5]

The War in Abkhazia in 1998 took place in the Gali district of Abkhazia, after ethnic Georgians launched an insurgency against the Abkhazian secessionist government. The conflict is sometimes referred to as the Six-Day War of Abkhazia however this name only takes into account the Abkhazian May 20, 1998 - May 26, 1998 offensive while hostilities and insurgent attacks had already occurred before that date.^[6][4]

Events

In the eighteen months prior to the war, Georgian paramilitary forces systematically attacked both Russian Peacekeeping troops and the Abkhazian military.^[7]

In the beginning of May, 300 fighters from the Georgian paramilitary White Legion crossed into Abkhazia, whereupon the Abkhazian government placed its military on combat alert.^[8] The White Legion was said to have received orders from Tamaz Nadareishvili, head of Georgia's government in exile for Abkhazia and member of Georgia's Security Council.^[5] In addition, Tornike Berishvili, a leader of the Mkhedrioni, declared on 27 May that 100 of its men had also fought in Abkhazia.^[1] According to Georgian sources, on 2 and 3 May Georgian forces gained control of the villages of Saberio, near the Inguri Dam, and Khumushkuri, and killed six Abkhazian soldiers when Abkhazian forces tried to retake the two villages.^[9] On 12 May, Georgian MP Germane Patsatsia announced that he was resigning to join the Georgian guerillas in Abkhazia who he claimed had seized control of Gali District.^[10]

On 18 May Georgian forces killed about twenty Abkhazian policemen in a surprise attack in the village of Repi.^[11][5] The next day, Abkhazian troops carried out reprisal attacks, resulting in ten to thirty deaths and causing Georgian residents to flee across the border.^[12] The following days saw minor, sporadic clashes as the Abkhazian Interior Ministry sent 800 more men into Gali District. Abkhazian forces were reported to set fire to Georgian homes.^[13]

On 22 May, the two sides signed a cease-fire agreement in Tbilisi, which was broken that same day when fighting broke out in the village of Tskhiri, killing four people. The next three days saw fierce fighting, with ITAR-TASS reporting the death of 40 Abkhazian soldiers, 4 Georgian soldiers and more than 20 Georgian civilians.^[14]

On 25 May, the Georgian and Abkhazian foreign ministers signed another cease-fire agreement in Gagra, set to take effect at 6:00 the following day, but fighting continued.^[15] In the night of 26 to 27 May, Abkhazian forces expelled the last Georgian guerillas.^[16]

Georgia's opposition blamed President Eduard Shevardnadze for losing the war by not supporting the guerillas with the Georgian Military.^[17] Shevardnadze declared that one of the reasons he had not sent in the military was it was not combat-ready.^[18]

References

Abkhaz–Georgian conflict
Timeline	Abkhazian side	Georgian side
1989 Sukhumi riots 1991 Abkhazian New Union Treaty referendum 1991–1993 Georgian Civil War 1992–1993 War in Abkhazia 1992 Battle of Sukhumi October 1992 Battle of Gagra 1992–1993 Siege of Tkvarcheli July 1993 Kamani massacre September 1993 Transair Georgia airliner shootdowns September 1993 Sukhumi massacre Ethnic cleansing of Georgians 1993 Sochi agreement 1993–2009 United Nations observer mission 1994 Moscow agreement 1998 War in Abkhazia 2001 Kodori crisis 2006 Kodori crisis 2007 Georgia helicopter incident 2007 Georgia plane downing incident 2007 Bokhundjara incident 2008 Georgian spy plane shootdowns 2008 Khurcha incident 2008 Abkhazia bombings 2008 Achamkhara incident 2008 Russo-Georgian War Battle off the coast of Abkhazia Battle of the Kodori Valley 2008 Post-war events 2009 Russo-Georgian relations 2014 Abkhazian revolution	Military forces: Military of Abkhazia Abkhazian Air Force Bagramyan Battalion Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus Key leaders: Vladislav Ardzinba Sergei Bagapsh Alexander Ankvab Raul Khajimba	Military forces: Georgian Armed Forces Georgian Air Force Coast Guard of Georgia Mkhedrioni White Legion Forest Brothers Key leaders: Zviad Gamsakhurdia † Eduard Shevardnadze Mikheil Saakashvili Giorgi Margvelashvili