When did the South Ossetia war start and who were the parties involved?
Q: When did the South Ossetia war start and who were the parties involved?
A: The South Ossetia war started on August 8, 2008, and it involved Georgia, South Ossetian (and Abkhazian) secessionists, and Russia.
Q: What are South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and what is their status within Georgia?
A: South Ossetia and Abkhazia are territories within Georgia that declared independence from Georgia and have been acting in a de facto independent capacity since the early 1990s. However, neither state has been diplomatically recognized by any member of the United Nations.
Q: Why did the conflict between Georgia and South Ossetian secessionists start?
A: The conflict between Georgia and South Ossetian secessionists started because Georgia claimed that South Ossetian separatists had broken a ceasefire by attacking villages, although South Ossetian officials deny that they attacked villages.
Q: What was Georgia's objective at the beginning of the conflict?
A: Georgia launched a military offensive to surround and capture the capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali.
Q: What was the role of Russian military troops in the conflict?
A: Russian military troops entered the war at the side of South Ossetia and won the conflict.
Q: When did the South Ossetia war end?
A: The South Ossetia war ended on Saturday August 16th, 2008.
Q: What legal action did Georgia take after the conflict?
A: Georgia launched the Georgia versus Russia (Hague court application, 2008) in the International Court of Justice.
