Kamani massacre

Kamani massacre
Part of ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia
The village of Kamani. Most of its inhabitants were massacred by Abkhaz separatists during the war.
Kamani massacre (Abkhazia)
Location	Kamani, Abkhazia, Georgia
Coordinates	43°03′29″N41°02′37″E / 43.057965°N 41.043731°E / 43.057965; 41.043731
Date	July 9, 1993 (1993-07-09)
Target	Georgians
Attack type	Armed attack
Deaths	500
Perpetrators	Militia forces of Abkhaz separatists separatists allies from North Caucasus and Russia.
Motive	Anti-Georgian sentiment Anti-Christian sentiment

The Kamani Massacre took place on July 9, 1993, during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. It was perpetrated against Georgian inhabitants of Kamani (a small village located north of Sukhumi), mainly by militia forces of Abkhaz separatists, and their North Caucasian and Russian allies. It became a part of the bloody campaign carried out by the separatists, which was known as the ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia

Events

Kamani was captured by Abkhaz separatists on 9 July as a result of the Battle of Kamani. Soon after the Abkhaz and their allies started a violent rampage against the inhabitants of Kamani. Women, children, and the elderly were systematically tortured, raped and massacred during the two days of violence. ^[1] The church and convent in Kamani became the scene of a blood bath. ^[1] The female nuns were raped and later killed in front of the orthodox priest father Yuri Anua and father Andria (the overseer of the convent). After witnessing the massacres of nuns the Georgian priests were taken outside of the church and while kneeling were interrogated.

“They questioned father Andria on the ownership of land in Abkhazia. He refused to answer. They questioned him repeatedly and finally he gave up and said: Abkhazia, like the rest of the world, belongs to God. They shot him soon after. Before doing so, they forced a young Abkhaz priest to kill him. He resisted and was killed near the Georgian priest. They left their corpses near the church and left". ^[2]

After the July events of 1993, Kamani remains completely depopulated and all houses in the village are abandoned by the surviving inhabitants. After taking this strategic area, Abkhaz and their allies launched a large scale offensive on Sukhumi which by now was encircled by the separatist forces.

See also

• Ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia
• Georgian-Abkhaz conflict
• Sukhumi Massacre
• United Nations resolutions on Abkhazia

References

1. Conflict in the Caucasus: Georgia, Abkhazia, and the Russian Shadow by S. A. Chervonnaia and Svetlana Mikhailovna Chervonnaia, p 51
2. UN report on Human Rights violation during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, Video interview with the survivor of the Massacre, recorded by UNAMIG in Tbilisi, 1995

External links

• Video file capturing Kamani tragedy
• Video file, Father Anua before the massacre