South Ossetia hosts events in memory of Eredvi victims

South Ossetia held memorial ceremonies in memory of 12 Ossetians killed in the village of Eredvi in March 1991.

On March 18, relatives of the killed Ossetians were met by Leonid Tibilov, the leader of the republic.

"We share your grief. There is likely no Ossetian, who would not be aware of that nation-wide tragedy," said the President.

In the village of Eredvi, 12 Ossetian men were killed under torture by members of the Georgian forces. Surviving witnesses reported that "on March 18, 1991, Georgian soldiers transported 25 Ossetians and forced them out not far from the village of Eredvi. Women and children were beaten, but released, and 12 men were buried alive after torture." The information about the tragedy was reported two years later: "Thanks to anonymous sources, it was reported about the burial place. On September 25 and 27, 1993, officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of South Ossetia left for the place, and they exhumed human remains in the presence of officials from the law enforcement bodies of the Republic of Georgia and relatives of the victims. The deceased men were identified with the help of their relatives and friends. In the same month, the victims were re-buried with military honour at the cemetery of Tskhinvali," reports the official chronicle as released by the Committee of Information and Press of South Ossetia.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.