1991–1992 South Ossetia War 1991–1992 South Ossetia War The 1991–1992 South Ossetian War (also known as the First South Ossetian war) was fought as part of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict between Georgian government forces and ethnic Georgian militia on one side and the forces of South Ossetia and ethnic Ossetian militia who wanted South Ossetia to secede from Georgia and become an independent state on the other. The war ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire, signed on 24 June 1992, which established a joint peacekeeping force and left South Ossetia divided between the rival authorities. Following the breakdown of the Tsarist regime in Russia, South Ossetians
Russia–South Ossetia relations on the night of 7 to 8 August 2008, the Georgian military launched an offensive on Tskhinval, the South Ossetian capital. The leader of Georgian peacekeepers in South Ossetia said the purpose was to "restore constitutional order" in the region. The majority of the inhabitants of South Ossetia hold Russian citizenship, and Russia citing Chapter VII Article 51 of the United Nations Charter sent troops into South Ossetia through the Roki Tunnel in the morning of 8 August. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in noting the deaths of Russian peacekeepers and South Ossetian civilians, stated: "In accordance with the Constitution and