SUMMARY

Since the end of the war between the Republic of Abkhazia and the Government of Georgia in 1993 and the return of IDPs to the Gali region in Abkhazia in the mid-1990s, Forest Brothers and White Legion had been involved in low-intensity guerrilla warfare and occasional small-scale military operations against Abkhaz forces along the ceasefire line, a region that had previously been home to a majority ethnic Georgian population.

In their struggle, the groups mainly relied on bomb attacks against Abkhaz infrastructure and mine attacks against key roads. In addition, the groups targeted Abkhaz forces and checkpoints in the bomb, rocket, and sniping attacks. Also, polling stations during local elections have been targeted. Occasionally, attacks resulted in armed confrontations with Abkhaz forces. Kidnapping of Abkhaz security forces was also a common tactic. Moreover, several incidents involved the CIS peacekeeping force when checkpoints were targeted by Forest Brothers and White Legion forces or Russian peacekeepers supported Abkhaz forces in their fight against the Georgian groups. To finance their activities and armaments, the Georgian groups depended on smuggling and criminal activities as well as the support from Georgian inhabitants in and around Gali. Responses from Abkhaz forces were heavy-handed and indiscriminately targeted ethnic Georgians in the area. Both sides’ activities have been facilitated by a large number of small arms and light weapons in the area, including Kalashnikov rifles, grenade launchers, and machine guns.

The non-state conflict between the forces of the Republic of Abkhaz and the Forest Brothers and White Legion is first included in UCDP data in 1998. In May 1998, the clashes between the groups that had been lingering for some time escalated, which resulted in more than 25 battle-related deaths.