Georgia

ABKHAZIA 1997-2011

ABKHAZIA WAS DECLARED MINE FREE ON 3RD NOVEMBER 2011

Both Georgian and Abkhazian forces used landmines extensively during the war of 1992-93. Mines were also used in varying degrees between the May 1994 cease-fire and the late 1990s by individuals and small groups, primarily in relation to criminal activities.

The landmines laid during the war were concentrated along well defined lines of conflict and key terrain. The Gumista and Inguri rivers, the Gali Canal, the Kodori Valley and the main road were all heavily mined areas of tactical importance. Post conflict these mined areas prevented the safe resumption of agricultural activities and light industry. They also denied safe transit to the population of Abkhazia.

HALO conducted an extensive landmine survey of Abkhazia between 1997 and 2000 in close cooperation with both sides from the conflict. 

South Ossetia

Since the 1990-1992 Georgian-Ossetian war, there has been persistent low-level mine-laying, primarily in areas between Georgian and South Ossetian controlled villages. The HALO Trust has been unable to gain sufficient access to South Ossetia to assess the landmine threat fully; however there have been reports of at least 15 landmine casualties in the past three years.

Soviet Legacy minefields

There is a small number of areas outside Georgia’s conflict zones where mines and unexploded ordnance continue to cause casualties. These include former military bases, remote border areas and training areas which have returned to civilian use. Whilst the minefield problem is relatively small and well defined, it nonetheless has a significant impact. 

In 2009, a national survey of minefields remaining in Georgia found a total of 15 contaminated sites.  Of these 15, ten are identified as having a direct humanitarian impact.

Shida Kartli region (August 2008 conflict)

South Ossetian, Georgian and Russian forces clashed over a four day period around the South Ossetian city of Tskhinvali in August 2008. Although minefields were not laid during this conflict, the heavy use of aircraft bombing, artillery and mortars resulted in widespread Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) and cluster munition contamination of this area. This contamination spread with the retreat of Georgian forces from Tskhinvali to the town of Gori in Georgia.

Concurrently, targets were bombed elsewhere in Georgia, including the Upper Kodori region of Abkhazia. This contamination was largely limited to individual airbomb and rocket strikes, which were quickly addressed and cleared. The majority of remaining contamination was limited to a 20km wide corridor between Gori and Tskhinvali where the high-intensity conflict took place. The main threat was a result of the extensive use of cluster munitions, but rocket strikes and much abandoned ammunition also needed to be cleared.