Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

HAS THE 'THIRD FORCE' IN SOUTH OSSETIA FINALLY BEEN NEUTRALIZED?

20 August 2004, Volume 7, Number 32


In a dawn assault on 19 August led by Interior Minister Irakli Okruashvili, Georgian Interior Ministry forces stormed and occupied three strategic hills overlooking the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, Georgian and Russian media reported.

Interfax quoted Georgian Minister for Conflict Resolution Giorgi Khaindrava as saying on 19 August that the Georgian assault was originally intended as a joint operation with South Ossetian participation to neutralize the so-called "third force" operating in the conflict zone, a force that is not subordinate to the South Ossetian authorities. Khaindrava said the South Ossetians subsequently declined to take part in that operation.

The agreement on conducting a joint operation to neutralize the third force was reached during talks between Georgian Defense Minister Giorgi Baramidze and his South Ossetian counterpart Anatolii Barankevich earlier this week, Caucasus Press reported on 17 August. ITAR-TASS quoted Baramidze as saying this force consists of "15-20 well-trained and well-equipped men whose assignment is to carry out regular attacks on the Georgian side and thus prevent the parties from fulfilling the cease-fire agreement." Georgian Deputy State Security Minister Gigi Ugulava told Caucasus Press on 17 August that the third force consists of mercenaries from the North Caucasus, while "Izvestiya" on 18 August quoted Georgian State Security Minister Vano Merabishvili as affirming that the third force consists of Ossetian units. Neither Georgian nor South Ossetian officials have equated the third force with the Arabic-speaking mercenaries whom each side claimed late last month were fighting on the opposing side (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 July 2004).

Interior Minister Okruashvili denied on 18 August that any third force exists, claiming that it is Russian peacekeepers who are repeatedly shelling their Georgian counterparts during the hours of darkness, Caucasus Press reported. Meanwhile, South Ossetian government spokeswoman Irina Gagloeva told RFE/RL on 17 August that Okruashvili is himself acting independently of the Georgian authorities, and that Baramidze admitted this during his talks with Barankevich. South Ossetian Minister for Special Assignments Boris Chochiev told ITAR-TASS on 17 August that Okruashvili is "a detonator" who serves to intensify the conflict. Major General Svyatoslav Nabdzorov, the Russian commander of the joint Russian-Georgian-Ossetian peacekeeping force deployed in the conflict zone, similarly said on 19 August that "Okruashvili...is the 'third force' that has been talked about so much lately," Caucasus Press reported.

Although he apparently had little military experience prior to his appointment as interior minister in June, Okruashvili, who was born in Tskhinvali, has reportedly personally commanded the activities of his ministry's troops in South Ossetia (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," 5 August 2004).

Okruashvili told Georgian media on 19 August that eight Cossacks were killed during the attack that morning, and that his men confiscated two combat vehicles, two mortars, automatic weapons and ammunition, and food and narcotics. Okruashvili said he would produce the eight bodies to prove that speculation about a third force fighting in South Ossetia are wrong, Caucasus Press reported. Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania likewise said on 19 August that "the 'third force' turned out to comprise mercenaries and terrorists from the North Caucasus. They have been practically liquidated during the night," Caucasus Press reported.

Whoever may have been responsible for the nighttime shelling of Georgian positions and villages over the past week, Saakashvili has moved to restrict Okruashvili's role. In a televised address on 19 August, he offered to withdraw from the conflict zone all Georgian units except the 500 Georgian peacekeepers Tbilisi is permited to deploy there under the terms of the 1992 Dagomys agreement. The surplus personnel are all Interior Ministry troops. In addition, Saakashvili reportedly named Baramidze, not Okruashvili, to head the peacekeeping force. That appointment effectively prevents Okruashvili from acting of his own volition. But it may also be intended to serve a second purpose. "Rossiiskaya gazeta" reported on 18 August without citing its sources that Baramidze bears a grudge against Saakashvili for having transferred him from the post of interior minister, in which he reportedly enjoyed "near pop-star status," to that of defense minister, and has aligned himself with Zhvania who, the paper claims, is increasingly distancing himself from Saakashvili. Saakashvili in recent days has insistently appealed to the international community to step in and resolve the South Ossetian conflict in Georgia's favor, while Zhvania continues to profess his readiness to travel to Tskhinvali for talks with South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity on how to defuse tensions. By giving Baramidze the opportunity to demonstrate his military authority, Saakashvili may be hoping to undercut a putative Zhvania-Baramidze alliance. (Liz Fuller)
http://www.rferl.org/reports/caucasus-report/