Kabardian Battalion
The Kabardian Battalion was a battalion formed in Abkhazia and composed of ethnic Kabardians who were members of the Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus and volunteered to fight for the separatist Republic of Abkhazia during the War in Abkhazia (1992-1993), against the Georgians. The battalion's reconnaissance and assault group was commanded by Major Muayed Shorov. The battalion fought under the aegis of the Abkhazian forces and the Abkhazian Minister of Defence, Sultan Sosnaliyev, an ethnic Kabardian himself. The battalion was disbanded shortly after the Abkhazian victory in October 1993.
Operational history[edit]
The battalion participated in the battle of Gagra, which was followed by a massacre perpetrated by volunteers from the North Caucasus, the capture of Colonel Kalandadze of the Georgian White Eagles at Merkula in December 1992, the 1st Shroma operation, the January, March and July 1993 Abkhaz offensives, the taking of Akhbyuk heights outside Sukhumi, the capture of Georgian guardsmen led by General Zurab Mamulashvili [1], and the taking of Akhalsheni, Kamani, infamous for the massacre of Georgian (Svan) civilians that took place there, and finally Sukhumi itself.
Notably, on 27 September, 1993, a twenty-seven man intelligence group from the Battalion[2], led by Shorov [3], stormed the Council of Ministers Building in Sukhumi, [4] capturing the Georgian administration of Abkhazia [5]. Fifty-nine volunteers from the battalion lost their lives during the conflict.[6]
Capturing the Council of Ministers building in Sukhumi[edit]
Israeli political analyst Avraham Shmulevich gives an account on the capture of the Council of Ministers of Abkhazia building by the Kabardian battalion.[2]
Battle[edit]
On 27 September, 1993, the Kabardian intelligence group, led by Major Muayed Shorov, along with other units of the Abkhazian army, advanced on the Council of Ministers Building in Sukhumi. The unit received word that the building had already been captured. As the fighters moved towards the building, they were greeted by small arms fire and fire from a BDRM-2, and it soon became apparent that the Georgians still occupied the building. Among the occupants were the leaders of Sukhumi's defence, including Council chief Zhiuli Shartava, mayor of Sukhumi, Guram Gabiskiria, along with Alexander Berulava, Mamia Alasania, Misha Kokaia, Raul Eshba and Sumbat Saakian.
The attack began from the right side of the building at 10:30 am, when they came under fire from volunteers of the Ukrainian National Assembly – Ukrainian People's Self-Defense. One hundred and fifty men led by Shartava opened fire on the Kabardians from the lower floors. The Kabardians were pinned down until support from the Armenian Bagramyan Battalion and Aki Ardzinba's Abkhazian battalion arrived, along with ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft artillery. Kabardian volunteer Artur Karmokov managed to knock out the Georgian BDRM-2 with an RPG-7, but he was soon hit by a sniper's bullet. There was a half-hour lull in the fighting as Karmokov was carried away. Upon hearing of Karmokov's death, the Kabardians resumed the fighting with RPO-A Shmel rocket launchers. An Abkhazian tank gave sporadic fire support.
Surrender of the Georgian Council of Ministers of Abkhazia[edit]
After four and a half hours of fighting, the defenders raised the white flag. An unarmed Georgian man left the building to inform the victors of Shartava's proposal to arrange a safe passage out of the city. Shorov rejected the proposal, informing him that all surviving defenders were to be taken into custody with medical attention for the wounded, threatening to resume the attack if this demand were not met. After twenty minutes, Shartava agreed to surrender only to the Kabardians - which Shorov accepted. [7] The volunteers went up to the second floor of the building, finding thirty members of the Georgian special forces and members of the Georgian administration laying down their arms. Shartava gave up his general's silver pistol and machine gun, as well as his Georgian Member of Parliament ID card, as did Gabiskiria, the Chief of Police and the Head of the Chancellery; Gabiskiria and Shartava's documents are currently in the possession of the Union of Abkhazian Volunteers of the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria in Nalchik. The captives explained that the Georgian authorities had mislead them, promising them assistance that never materialised, essentially abandoning them to their fate; if they had known this, they might have fled or surrendered. The bodies of several dead Ukrainian volunteers were found on the upper floors of the building. Shorov and his troops then led the defenders out of the building and into the square. Kabardian volunteers Abayev and Khagazheyev raised an Abkhazian flag with the inscription: "The Kabardian group 27.09.1993" on top of the government building.
A crowd of Abkhazian fighters, who did not participate in the fierce battle to capture the government building, began to stream into the square and removed the flags the Kabardians had raised, replacing them with their own. The victors chanted, danced and fired into the air. The angry crowd became increasingly belligerent, wanting to exact their revenge on the members of the Georgian administration, but the Georgians apparently showed no fear. Video footage shows Gabiskiria being repeatedly kicked in the head [8]. Three captives were killed at the square. The Kabardian volunteers tried to maintain order as the captives were squeezed into a minibus, which transported them to the site of their execution [9], all the while being assaulted by the Abkhazians. Just before his death, Shartava had tried to guarantee his own safety several times, all in vain. Abkhazian president Vladislav Ardzinba was reportedly furious when he learned of the deaths of the captives, as they had valuable information, particularly Shartava. Apparently the Kabardians allowed one Georgian riot police officer, known only as Merab, to return home with his weapons without the Abkhazians realising who he actually was.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ "ამბავი აფხაზეთში ტყვედ ნამყოფი რკინიგზელებისა, The Story of Those Who Were Captured in Abkhazia".
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Shmulevich, Avraham (11 February 2016). "Кто осуществил штурм Дома правительства в Сухуми: Документы расстрелянного Шартава, которые публикуются впервые (Who stormed the Government House in Sukhumi: Documents of the executed Shartava, which are published for the first time)". Accent News Georgia.
- ↑ Tekushev, Islam (2013). Abkhazia: Between the Past and the Future (PDF). Prague, Czech Republic: Medium Orient. p. 38. ISBN 978-80-260-4774-2. Search this book on
- ↑ Bebler, Anton (2015). "Frozen Conflicts" in Europe. Toronto, Canada: Barbara Budrich Publishers. p. 85. ISBN 978-3-8474-0133-9. Search this book on
- ↑ Markedonov, Sergey (24 September 2011). "History as a Weapon: The Circassian Issue Standing Between Russia and Georgia". Russia in Global Affairs.
- ↑ Orazaeva, Luiza (17 April 2013). "Delegation of Abkhaz women visits families of victims of Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in KBR". Caucasian Knot.
- ↑ Ashiba, Rada. "Шоров о брате: Муаед прошел все военные тропы обоих фронтов Абхазии". sputnik-abkhazia.ru (in русский). Retrieved 2019-03-10.
- ↑ gvidogio (2009-08-06), Fall of Sokhumi, retrieved 2019-03-10
- ↑ "The Caucasus archive. 20 years ago. July 1993 | Vestnik Kavkaza". vestnikkavkaza.net. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
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