In April 1991, the Republic of Georgia declared itself independent of the
Soviet Union. In 1992, the long standing dispute over the political status of
Abkhazia resulted in the outbreak of war. At the end of September 1993,
Georgian armed forces withdrew from the territory of Abkhazia. Additional
fighting took place in early 1994. After a cease-fire agreement in May 1994, the
Commonwealth of Independent States Collective Peacekeeping Forces (CIS CPKF)
were introduced into the region. In November 1994, the Supreme Council of
Abkhazia adopted a new constitution and declared Abkhazia to be a sovereign
republic, which can be bound by international law. No international diplomatic
recognition has been extended to Abkhazia. Peace negotiations are being
conducted by the United Nations and facilitated by the Russian Federation, with
the representatives of the USA, Britain, France, Germany and Russia, acting as
Friends of the UN Secretary General. No progress has been made on agreement on
the political status of Abkhazia.
As a result of the fighting, and continued skirmishes, Georgia and Abkhazia
are mine-affected (see also the report on Georgia).
Mine Ban Policy
Since Abkhazia is not an
internationally-recognized state, it cannot sign the Mine Ban Treaty. Abkhazian
authorities have made no statements in support or opposition to the ban treaty,
but it would appear that mines are still viewed as a legitimate and necessary
weapon.
Production, Transfer, and Stockpiling
It is not believed that Abkhazia has produced or
exported antipersonnel mines. One report on the Georgia-Abkhazia conflict
speculates that, prior to the conflict, Abkhazia received small arms and light
weapons (possibly including mines) from Russian or Soviet sources, and that once
conflict began, Abkhazia obtained weapons (again possibly including mines) from
raids on Russian facilities in Abkhazia, raids on Georgian facilities, black
market purchases, and direct transfer from Russian
forces.[30] There is no
concrete evidence, however, as to whether Abkhazian forces availed themselves of
the Soviet stocks or if they obtained their landmines and other weapons
elsewhere. There is no evidence of transfers of mines to Abkhazia in the past
few years.
Abkhazia no doubt currently maintains a stockpile of antipersonnel mines,
though the size and composition are unknown. Most mines used in the conflict
were of Soviet types, and it is likely those types that are now in the
Abkhazian arsenal.
Use
Both Georgian and Abkhazian forces used landmines
extensively during the war of 1992-93. Georgian military units laid the
majority of landmines in Ochamchira and Sukhumi districts, while the Abkhazian
forces are reported to have laid the majority of mines in the Gali
district.[31]
Landmines are still being used today in Abkhazia by groups which infiltrate
from the territory of Georgia. UN reports have detailed numerous landmine
incidents. For example, in 1997, the UN noted: "The mine problem in the Gali
district has worsened...with mines killing or maiming innocent civilians and
threatening the population of the district. Mines continue to prevent
humanitarian organizations from working in all areas of the district outside of
the town of Gali. This is of particular concern as reports from civilians who
have traveled to villages indicate a precarious humanitarian situation that must
be addressed as soon as
possible."[32]
The UN also noted that during August and September 1998, ten separate
incidents of mine attacks and ambushes against the Abkhazian militia by armed
groups operating in the lower Gali region caused the death of twenty-five
Abkhazian militia. Sixteen soldiers of the CIS peacekeeping force were wounded
in the same period in similar
attacks.[33]
There are two main Georgian groups that claim responsibility for these mine
attacks, the "White Legion" and the "Forest Brothers,” which have been
operating since 1996.[34] After
five peacekeepers were killed and three others injured in a landmine incident on
12 July 1998, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the
killings as an act of terrorism by Georgian guerrillas and said that "any
attempts to present the White Legion or the Forest Brothers as organizations
that have nothing to do with Georgian special services are an attempt to ignore
reality."[35] Human Rights
Watch has noted that despite Georgian denials, there are “persistent and
highly credible reports that partisan groups had links to the Ministry of
Internal Affairs and Defense, and to the State Security Service and to some
members of the
government.”[36]
Low intensity protracted conflict continues in Abkhazia, and the UN Security
Council noted that allegations of mine use in the region continue: “The
Security Council also condemns the continued laying of mines, including more
sophisticated types of mines which has already caused several deaths and
injuries among the civilian population and the peacekeepers and observers of the
international
community.”[37]
The United Nations Development Program has said that “nuisance mining
is reportedly common in Gali province, where antitank and directional landmines
are laid to disrupt travel along the road network in lower Gali and to harass
Abkhazian military forces and the CIS peacekeeping
force.”[38]
The Government of Abkhazia estimates that there are between 30,000-35,000
landmines scattered in approximately 500 mined locations throughout
Abkhazia.[40] The Halo Trust
demining organization estimates that there are closer to 50,000 landmines in
Abkhazia.[41] According to the
UN, landmines are estimated to affect at least 2,000 hectares of arable farm
land, as well as schools, hospitals, and administrative buildings in the
Ochamchira region.
The landmines laid during the war are concentrated along old
confrontation lines by the Gumista River, throughout the Ochamchira region,
especially along the main roads, in the upper Kodor valley, along the Gal canal
and the Ingur River. The landmines along the Gumista River run through the
western edge of Sukhum. These landmines were laid in 133 separate minefields
that stretch from the upper bridge over the Gumista approximately ten kilometers
south to the Black Sea. North of the upper bridge, landmines were laid along the
ridge lines of the mountains cut by the Gumista. The Gumista river area was
formerly an area of light manufacturing and agriculture. Today, factories
destroyed during the fighting remain untouchable because of heavy landmine
contamination. The high fertility of the soil along the river has attracted a
number of families, who continue to live in the local neighborhoods and farm
small plots of maize and orange groves, despite the close proximity to large
minefields.
This population continues to suffer occasional landmine casualties, as well
as regular livestock losses. Given the proximity to the minefields by the river,
the normal cycle of rain and snow washes significant numbers of landmines into
the river and down to the sea. Twelve antipersonnel landmines were removed from
beaches near the Gumista estuary in 1997 by Abkhazian engineers. These landmines
pose a potential hazard to commercial fishermen as well as bathers in the areas
around the mouth of the Gumista River. None of the mined areas along the Gumista
have been fenced off or marked.
The Ochamchira district is one of the most heavily mined regions in Abkhazia.
About thirty percent of the tea plantations in this region, or approximately six
hundred hectares, have been mined. In addition, villagers indicate that up to
forty percent of their livestock are killed by landmines before they normally
would be slaughtered. Approximately thirty kilometers of electric power lines
are mined in this region, preventing crews from repairing them.
Mine Clearance and Mine Awareness
No comprehensive program on humanitarian mine
action currently exists in Abkhazia. The Abkhazian authorities have a limited
capacity to deal with the landmine threat. There is a lack of funds, equipment,
and trained personnel. Abkhazian engineers have demined some essential areas,
such as water and electricity supply systems. The CIS CPKF and the HALO Trust
are conducting humanitarian demining in Abkhazia.
Since 1994, the special engineering unit of the Russian Ministry of Defense
as a part of the CIS CPKF has been conducting demining operations in Abkhazia.
All the networks of roads, as well as the most crucial elements of the
infrastructure in Abkhazia and the south bank of the Ingur River, have been
surveyed and demined by the Russian deminers. According to the Russian Ministry
of Defense, some 10,000 explosive devices have been cleared since
1994.[42]
The HALO Trust started demining operations in 1997 with their first two
demining platoons. Eventually, it plans to field five platoons of twenty
deminers to tackle the landmine problem in Abkhazia. According to the UN
Assessment Mission this project appears capable of clearing Abkhazia of
landmines within five to seven years, although it would benefit greatly from the
addition of mechanized clearance
components.[43] HALO Trust
estimates that it has cleared 1,209 antipersonnel and antitank
mines.[44] The continued use
of landmines has delayed implementation of mine action programs and mine
clearance in contaminated areas.
The Norwegian Refugee Council ran a mine awareness campaign in 1994 that was
limited to internally displaced persons and returnees in the areas around
Zugdidi and Gali.[45] The ICRC
has distributed some brochures to refugees in the Zugdidi region of Georgia, yet
not to the actual population of mine affected regions in Abkhazia. Occasionally
the ICRC's video clips are shown on television about the danger posed by the
landmines. The Centre for Humanitarian Programmes, together with the "Scouts of
Abkhazia," are planning to develop mine awareness programs.
Landmine Casualties
UN military observers, CIS peacekeepers, Abkhazian
militia and army personnel, as well as many civilians have fallen victim to
mines in Abkhazia since the cease-fire in 1994. Altogether the number of victims
runs into the hundreds. The UN estimates that forty-one Abkhazians were killed
or injured by landmines in the last half of
1997.[46] In January 1997, CIS
peacekeepers left the road near Saberio and accidentally entered a minefield.
Two CIS peacekeepers were
injured.[47]
There is no organization in Abkhazia that specifically collects data on the
landmine casualties in Abkhazia. The landmine and UXO incidents in Abkhazia are
registered by different agencies according to their nature, location and
outcome. Some landmine or UXO incidents have not been reported or
registered.
Survivor Assistance
The ICRC in cooperation with the Ministry of
Health of Abkhazia runs orthopedic projects for the disabled, many of whom are
landmine casualties. According to the Abkhaz Social Security Foundation there
are some 490 amputees in Abkhazia and some 380 of them use the ICRC orthopedic
workshop for free
prostheses.[48] No
psycho-social rehabilitation programs for landmine victims are provided on the
regular basis.
Initial information indicates that the Abkhazian medical system has the
expertise but often lacks the resources adequately to treat landmine injuries.
However, the Abkhazian authorities at the Republican Hospital in Sukhum say that
they lack some surgical equipment, cardiac monitors, anesthesia machines,
respirators, and facilities properly to handle and store
blood.[49]
[30]Human Rights Watch Arms
Project/Human Rights Watch Helsinki, “Georgia/Abkhazia: Violations of the
Laws of War and Russia’s Role in the Conflict,” Vol. 7, No. 7, March
1995, pp. 17, 44.
[31] United Nations
Development Program, United Nations Needs Assessment Mission to Abkhazia,
Georgia (United Nations, March 1998). See http://www.abkhazia.org.
[42] Deputy Commander of
Engineers Adam Nizhalovsky, Report on the First International Conference on
Landmines in Russia and the CIS, Moscow, 27-29 May 1998, p. 15.
[43] United Nations
Development Programme, United Nations Needs Assessment to Abkhazia,
Georgia.
[44] HALO Trust report
provided to Abkhazian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, December 1998.
[45] United Nations
Development Programme, United Nations Needs Assessment to Abkhazia,
Georgia.
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