| October 2008 Tskhinvali bombing | |
|---|---|
 A map showing the location of Tskhinvali within Georgia. | |
| Location | Tskhinvali, South Ossetia |
| Date | October 3, 2008 (UTC+3) |
| Target | Russian peacekeeping force |
Attack type | Car bombing |
| Deaths | 11 |
| Injured | 4 |
| Perpetrators | Unknown, Georgia claimed |
The October 2008 Tskhinvali bombing was a car bombing that occured outside the Russian peacekeeping force headquarters in Tskhinvali, South Ossetia, a breakaway region of Georgia on October 3, 2008. The attack killed eleven, nine of whom were Russian peacekeepers, and injured four more. The bombing came just two months after the short, but intense 2008 South Ossetia war during which Georgian forces had been expelled entirely from South Ossetia. Russia and South Ossetia both blamed Georgia for the bombing, claiming that it threatened to undermine the France brokered peace plan, as well as heighten tensions of the 2008–2010 Georgia–Russia crisis. Georgia disputes these accusations, denying any involvement in the attack.
Background
editBy the autumn of 2008 the Caucasus tensions remained at a heightened state. The conclusion of the August War, resulted in a complete withdrawl of Georgian military presence within the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. To Georgia's further dismay Russia and Nicaragua recognized the territories as independent in the weeks immediately following the conflict. Georgia likened these developments to outright annexation, and severed relations between the aforementioned countries. Officially, Georgia considers Abkhazia and South Ossetia to be Russian occupied territory.
References
edithttp://english.china.com/zh_cn/news/international/11020308/20081006/15121347.html http://www.france24.com/en/20081004-russian-chief-staff-killed-tskhinvali-explosion-ossetia-georgia http://euobserver.com/9/26868 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7582181.stm - Annexation reference. http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/key-issues/war-in-georgia.aspx