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 9th, 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.
“The group for documentation of witnesses of the war in South Ossetia. August 2008.” Vladikavkaz |
