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Revision as of 18:23, 13 November 2007 by Sputnik Sattelite (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Bagramyan Battalion was a military organization based in Abkhazia, Georgia and predominantly composed of ethnic Armenians that fought for the independent Abkhazian Republic during the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993). It was named in honour of the Marshal of Soviet Union Hovhannes Bagramyan who was ethnic Armenian as well.
Initially, during the War in Abkhazia, ethnic Armenians living in Abkhazia remained relatively neutral but later largely supported the Abkhazians. The declared purpose of the Bagramian Battalion was to protect ethnic Armenians living in Abkhazia from real or perceived excesses by the Georgian military. Artavazd Saretsian, editor of the Sukhumi-based Hamshen newspaper issued in Armenian and Russian has claimed:
At first, we were trying not to mess around, but then the Georgians exerted so much cruelty against Armenians that we had to back the Abkhazians. They would invade the houses and rob and torture the people. In Labra, they seated a married couple on chairs with holes on the seats and burned them. They were raping the women. It was impossible to stay neutral.
On 10 May 1998, during hostilities leading to Six-Day War in Abkhazia (20-26 May 1998), there was a fire initiated on one of administrative buildings of the power grid in Mziuri. No one was injured in the attack. The Tbilisi-based Prime-News agency reported it was done by the members of the organization. According to the official Georgian reports, the battalion was dispatched by the de facto Abkhaz authorities to the predominantly Georgian-populated Gali district specifically for punitive operations:
When Abkhaz forces occupied the village , Abkhaz person from Gudauta said to Georgian families that he didn't have anything against Georgians because none of his relatives had been killed. Moreover he promised to do everything possible to assist them but he warned to be afraid of Bagramyan battalion... Battalion fighters attacked peaceful civilians, burnt down the houses and took hostage several residents of Gali.
The group participated in ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia.
References
- ^ Bagramyan Battalion MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base
- Abkhazia Today. The International Crisis Group Europe Report N°176, 15 September 2006, page 5. Retrieved on May 30, 2007. Free registration needed to view full report
- ^ AGBU, ABKHAZIA ARMENIANS: HOLDING A HOME IN AN UNSTABLE TERRITORY, 11/1/2004
- The Security of the Caspian Sea Region pg 286 by Alexander Kyrlov edited by Genadi Chufrin
- Bagramyan Battalion attacked Utilities target (May 10, 1998, Georgia), Information Source Tbilisi Prime-News
- Vakhtang Kholbaia, Raphiel Gelantia, David Latsuzbaia, Teimuraz Chakhrakia (trans. Nana Japaridze-Chkhoidze; 1999), Labyrinth of Abkhazia, page 34. The Parliament of Georgia, Tbilisi.
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