The war in August 2008. On the eve of invasion ...
On the night of August 3, Georgia started to draw up forces to the border of South Ossetia, preparing for the assault. From the military base in Gori began moving up the artillery battalion – the part of the fourth mechanized infantry brigade of the Defence Ministry of Georgia.
The shelling of Ossetian villages Mugut, Prineu in Znaur district of South Ossetia was conducted throughout the night. The positions of the law enforcement bodies and the houses of civilians also came under fire.
There was hastily organized the evacuation of the women and children.
Despite the sharp aggravation of the situation, a delegation from North Ossetia arrived in South Ossetia. The delegation consisted of the Chairman of the All-Russian movement "Styr Nykhas" Boris Basayev, the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of North Ossetia - Alania Stanislav Kesaev and the Doctor of History Ruslan Bzarov.
"One could not expect real democracy from Georgia. The war unleashed by Georgia and the attempt to force the Ossetians back in Georgia is the manifestation of the internal weakness of the Georgian state, "- said Ruslan Bzarov.
The northerners have expressed their willingness to come to the aid of the southern brethren.
"If the situation continues to escalate, we will begin to form volunteer corps, not only in North Ossetia, but also throughout the North Caucasus. We are peaceful people, but if it necessary, everybody will rise in defense of Ossetia ", - said Boris Basayev.
The South Ossetian part of the Joint Control Commission issued a statement running that for the last three months the Georgian side had been preparing for the the outbreak of hostilities, but the repeated warnings of the South Ossetian side had been ignored by the international community, and, first of all , by the OSCE.
"It is the destructive position of the OSCE and the Western countries, which are silently watching the military buildup of Georgia, intensively supplying Georgia with military equipment, including heavy, weapons of mass destruction, giving Georgia the opportunity to commit acts of aggression and killing civilians in South Ossetia "- ran the statement of the JCC.
A protest rally against barbaric acts of Georgia was also held in the capital of North Ossetia Vladikavkaz. The meeting attended by a lot of people, began with a minute of silence in memory of those killed civilians during the shelling of Tskhinval on August 1.
A political party "Fydybaestae" also appealed to the UN, OSCE and international organizations to provide an objective assessment of the actions of the Georgian leadership, warning of the steps leading up to the beginning of a new full-scale war, and demand that Georgia should withdraw all its illegal armed units from the conflict zone " .
Concern over the escalation of the situation was also expressed by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
"The threat of large-scale hostilities between Georgia and South Ossetia is becoming more real. Contrary to the various statements of the Georgian leadership on the need for urgent measures to de-escalate the tension, the actions of Tbilisi, in practice, deny these declarations, "- ran the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry made on August 3.
The peacekeeping contingent went on a heightened state of alert, were strengthened the checkpoints and set up additional observation posts. Military observers of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces were monitoring the situation in the conflict zone. They stated there were not any positive actions in reducing tension.
There remained a few days before the direct incursion of the Georgian army into South Ossetia and the assault on the sleeping Tskhinval.