1991–1992 South Ossetia War violation of ceasefires, taking of hostages and bombardment of civilian targets. According to Human Rights Watch, during the war Georgian paramilitary groups committed acts of violence against Ossetian civilians within South Ossetia that were motivated by the desire to expel Ossetians and reclaim villages for Georgia, and by sheer revenge against the Ossetian people. Between 60 and 100 villages were burned down, destroyed by Georgian forces or otherwise abandoned. Several villages were ethnically cleansed by Georgian forces. On the other side, Georgians living in Ossetian controlled territory were "easy targets": Houses occupied by Georgians were singled out, looted and burned
Parliament of South Ossetia Parliament of South Ossetia The Parliament of South Ossetia is the unicameral legislature of the partially recognized Republic of South Ossetia. Members are elected using a system of Party-list proportional representation. South Ossetia has a multi-party system, and currently 4 political parties are represented in parliament. The parliament is headed by a speaker, who is elected from among the members. The current speaker is Pyotr Gassiev, member of parliament for United Ossetia. The parliament of South Ossetia meets in the capital Tskhinvali. The parliament building, built in 1937, was heavily damaged in the 2008 South Ossetia war. "Until 27 November