24.09.2008 23:40 | The Tragedy of South Ossetia. Testimony of Witnesses: Ataeva Olga Muratovna

Olga Muratovna Ataeva, age 30, Tskhinval, 30 Stalin St.

My brother, Alan Ataev worked as a dentist in the city hospital, and was not a military person. During the artillery bombardment of the city on the eighth of August, he, my sister and my parents were hiding out in the basement of our house close to the center of the city. On the 9^th, during a period when it was relatively calm, he went out to see if anybody needed medical assistance and never came back. The next morning, my mother, despite the heavy shooting, had gone out to search for him.

She found his remains about 300 meters away from our house. He was torn apart into pieces, probably by a direct hit of some heavy weaponry, maybe a tank. She recognized him by his shoes. Together with my sister they gathered what was left of him and buried him a few hours later, still under heavy fire in the city. They weren’t sure if they would survive or not, all that was important to them was to bury what was left of Alan.

24.09.2008 23:30 | The Tragedy of South Ossetia. Testimony of Witnesses: Gabueva Larissa Nugzarovna, 1968

Gabueva Larissa Nugzarovna, born in 1968, 36 Gagloeva St., doctor-pediatrist of children's health centre.

On August 5, the children's health center was no longer working. I came to work, called up the head physician, and he said that we do not work. I asked: “And on Friday?” He said: “We will see, depending on the situation”.People had no fears whatsoever. Before that, we made survey of the children population - 25% of the children remained in the city. We indeed evacuated children, to Rostov, to Vladikavkaz, but mainly because it was a rest for them. There was no particular warning, nobody expected such an attack, indeed Saakashvili has said that there will be no shooting, and our president assured that we have all means to be protected... And all was absolutely quiet, nobody tried to leave nowhere.  In the night of Friday, August 8, at 23.30 this shelling by large-caliber weapons began, I feel shaking again throughout my body. On that day I was on duty in the maternity hospital, and because for that moment there were no lying-in women, we were on duty in-home. In order not to wake up late at night, I decided nevertheless to go to work to be on the safe side.

When the bombardment began, I came back home halfway. We did not even run to the basement, somehow we were not afraid, we thought that it was just another common shelling and it will end soon. We hid in the space between two houses - I, my husband, father-in-law 73 years old and mother-in law 78 years old. We got the children out earlier, but it was not due to the war, there were simply referrals to rehabilitation center “Phoenix”.

We thought that the shelling was about to end, though it felt somewhat unusual - we never had such a bombardment. All the time we heard assurances that South Ossetia can cope with any aggression by its own forces. All city dwellers will tell you this - we were not ready for such a war, and could not even imagine, what such action is possible against a peaceful population. The bombardment went on and on, it became clear that we had to get out of there.

We ran to the house - again not to the basement, but to the ground floor. The entrance to our basement was blocked by a car which stood there, at entrance, and it was impossible to drive out the car under the bullets. We settled on the floor, as we could, and towards morning there was a little lull in the shelling, it many, who ran to visit one's relatives, who went upstairs to their apartments for groceries, blankets and documents. The bombardment was resumed soon after and caught the people completely unprotected. A new  powerful bombardment from “Grad" and rockets began and in front of our eyes the missiles hit the  neighbor's houses, and two houses – of Byazrov Murat and Tedeyev Lerik – caught fire. From a “Grad” missile, a house lighted up and burned in its entirety in 20 minutes. So was burned the house of doctor Tokmayeva Nelli in the second day. Neighbors could not help with anything, because shrapnel was falling down like rain, the bullets whistled, and there was nothing to extinguish the fire with, indeed there was no water in the city all of this time, not even drinking water- so one should not divide the  Georgians into militant and peaceful. The former destroyed us by fire, the latter - tormented the city by thirst, sending all water to their gardens.

24.09.2008 21:46 | “Children were slaughtered before their parents’ eyes”

If somebody says that it not genocide - let him invent the title to what is happening… Another group of refugees has arrived… Grey from the fatigue, dust and horror… It is possible, that sometime in the future our “synchronous” reports  will be not simply stories before the television camera, but a part of the evidence base in the case of  Ossetian genocide…

A pregnant woman with two children shot on the street…

Grandmother with grandson who tried to run away from a tank but could not escape…

Mother and daughter raped and beheaded before the eyes of the head of the family…

Five children slaughtered, again before the eyes of their parents…

We could not process in our heads all we have heard. But, when we processed it none the less, something- excuse for the pathos-has happened to our souls. Soon afterwards when we saw the corpses of Georgian soldiers we felt  NOTHING… In spite of the fact that all these days it was really hot, and the corpses looked and smelled badly“.

24.09.2008 19:35 | TSKHINVAL. August 2008

24.09.2008 19:11 | «Children Were Fired at, as if at the Shooting Range»

The parks of Vladikavkaz, where not long ago every evening crowds of townspeople gathered, were in silence today. At the children's playgrounds kids were not visible. Some of the food stores are closed - owners of the shops are hurriedly sending the entire produce to the pre-frontline zone, in refugee camps. Lines of people formed at the blood donation stations. Citizens are collecting humanitarian aid for victims…

At the border of Vladikavkaz, there are two opposing streams of people.

The clothing of those who escaped the Tskhinval hell smells of char, in their hair – ashes.  They walk, reeling: the elderly treaded down slippers, women with busted knees, teenage girls, suddenly grown up over the days of the war.

Towards the refugees stretches a line of peacekeepers; boys in bright shirts, gray-haired men in camouflage. In their hands - hunting rifles and machine guns. In a few hours, President Medvedev will announce the termination of the peace enforcement - the militia are, naturally, unaware of this.

-- We go to Tskhinval at the call of our heart - tells us sulky Soslan. – Where did we get weapons? – He is surprised at our question. – We opened the storage, remaining since the time of the hostilities in the 90-s.

Volunteer Soslan, who in his peaceful life works in commerce, is headed for Tskhinval second time this week.

-- The authorities of the republic are trying to convince us not to go South, not to interfere with the military trying to establish order - said 42 year old Dzhemsher who was walking along with us. -- But this is our land and we are the defenders. If we do not go - who will respect us? All it took was a cry, and all the men of our street rose for a "clean-up" of Tskhinval.