South Ossetia is a partially recognised[1] landlocked state,[2] approximately 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level on the slopes of the Greater Caucasus.
South Ossetia has been a source of tension for a number of years, with Georgia and Russia's political differences impeding peaceful independence and breeding a turbulent series of events which undermine the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Alanic tribes in the North Caucasus formed a kingdom knows as Alania during the ninth century, which was bordered by Arabs and the Byzantine Empire.
[citation needed] Menshevik Georgia introduced its constitution in early 1921, with no mention of autonomous districts and related legislation.
Several unsuccessful attempts were made during the 1920s to unify North and South Ossetia, and Georgia's intention to control both regions was rejected.
Russian jets began flying over South Ossetia, and Georgia was complaining about Ossetian alleged shelling of Georgian land and villages by the end of July.
Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili outlined the regional hostilities in a letter submitted by Georgia's UN ambassador to the UN Security Council and General Assembly.
[5] Due to the unrest, Tskhinvali was partially evacuated as a precaution; however, media, journalists and leaders attempted to reassure South Ossetia that there would be no all-out war.
News began to circle about the Georgian shelling of South Ossetia's capital, Tskhinvali with rocket systems, large guns, resulting in numerous casualties in various villages such as Dmenis, Tsunar and Kvernet.
The command post of the joint peacekeeping force was involved in the hostilities (with casualties), and residents were in basement shelters for up to 16 hours.
The United Nations Security Council met on 8 August to discuss apparent human-rights violations of human rights, and condemned the Russian bombing as undermining Georgian sovereignty and territorial integrity.
This was in defiance of European Union (EU) policy, since the Russian troops impacted ethnic Georgian villages in South Ossetia and Russia.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) aims to restrict Russia's role in Transcaucasia, referring to events in South Ossetia as "ethnic cleansing and mass expulsion of the Kartvelian (Georgian) people and communities".
The mission monitors the Georgian, Russian and South Ossetian borders daily, documents any troop movements, and engages with the community to assess potential insurgency in the region.