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
Human rights in South Ossetia Georgian Kingdom. Following this, the political climate in Ossetia deteriorated, opening the doors for Russian annexation. During 1918 a peasant uprising had broke out in the region of South Ossetia and forcefully suppressed by Menshevik peoples guard, carried out by Georgian, Jaliko Jugheli. A Russian endorsed force crossed the border and attacked the Georgian army and guard, this action perpetrated violent reactions by the Georgians provoking bloodless battles. This ensued thousands of deaths furthermore thousands of Ossetians fled to Soviet Russia. At the conclusion of this battle many villages were burnt and fertile land was desolated. Between the years of