Russo-Georgian War: August 3, 2008

Nine years have passed since the Russo-Georgian War of August 2008. Civil.ge uses its archives and other sources to provide a daily recap of the events of the war. We start on August 1, 2008, amid the final stage of pre-war escalation, and will continue up to the occupation of Akhalgori Municipality by the Russian troops on August 16.

August 3:

•  Exchanges of fire occur during the early hours of August 3. The Georgian side says its police post in village Dvani was attacked by Tskhinvali forces, while the latter says Georgians fired at village Muguti.
   
• Georgian intelligence reports deployment of elements of the Separate Reconnaissance Battalion of the 19th Motor Rifle Division of the 58th Russian Army to Java District through Roki Tunnel.
   
• Tskhinvali “minister of internal affairs” Mikhail Mindzaev threatens to bomb Georgian cities south of Tskhinvali, naming “Gori, Kareli that one of your [Georgian] resort zones.”
   
• The Abkhaz leader Sergey Bagapsh says Sokhumi is not going to participate in a meeting of the UN Secretary General’s Group of Friends in Berlin, citing Tskhinvali tensions as a reason.

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