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
Nicaragua–South Ossetia relations Nicaragua–South Ossetia relations Nicaragua – South Ossetia relations refers to bilateral foreign relations between Nicaragua and the Republic of South Ossetia. Nicaragua extended diplomatic recognition to South Ossetia and Abkhazia on 5 September 2008. After the recognition was announced, the Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry stated that they would immediately establish ties with Tskhinvali and would eventually appoint an ambassador to the republic. At a press conference in November 2008, Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Samuel Santos Lopez said, "Certainly, we think that the decision [to recognize independent Abkhazia and South Ossetia] was fair and appropriate. They [the republics] must be given time for