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
Russia–South Ossetia relations travelled to South Ossetia on 21 July 2009, where they attended the opening of two rural police stations, and attended the signing of an interagency agreement between the two countries prosecutorial agencies. On 7 August 2009, Dmitry Medvedev in an interview for the documentary "In August 2008..." stated that Russia would continue to develop bilateral ties with South Ossetia "regardless of whether somebody likes it or not." The Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance which was signed in September 2008 came into force on 20 January 2009, and stipulates a Russian guarantee of military intervention in case South Ossetia