Khetagurovo (Tsunari until 1940) ( ka, ხეთაგუროვი, ''khet’agurovi''; os, Къостайыхъæу, K'ostajyqæw) is a 150-house village in South Ossetia, ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

partially recognized republic in the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

, formerly the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. The village has been controlled by the South Ossetian forces since the armed clashes with the Georgian troops in 1991/1992. Until 1991 village was part of Tskhinvali district, Gori municipality. Sakrebulo center (villages: Bagata, Galuanta, Tibilaani, Kroza, Kusireti,

Tbeti ka, ტბეთი , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Village , image_skyline = , image_caption = , imagesize = , pushpin_map = South Ossetia#Georgia (country) , push ...

, Kvasatali, Grubela, Khodi).

Geography

Village is located on the plain of Shida Kartli, on the bank of the river Tiliani (eastern Prone basin) and Kekhvi canal. 900 meters above sea level, 7 kilometers from Tskhinvali. The historic village of Tsunari, presently Khetagurovo, is one of the historical villages of Shida Kartli. Here stands the Church of the Virgin of Tsunari.

2008 South Ossetia War

Khetagurovo is situated 5 kilometers west of

Tskhinvali Tskhinvali ( ka, ცხინვალი ) or Tskhinval ( os, Цхинвал, Чъреба, Tskhinval, Chreba, ; rus, Цхинва́л(и), r=Tskhinvál(i), ) is the capital of the disputed ''de facto'' independent Republic of South Ossetia, int ...

, capital of South Ossetia. On the west and south, it borders 3 Georgian villages Nuli, Avnevi and Didmuha. As can be seen on satellite images, Khetagorovo had four Ossetian defense positions outside the village in the south and southwest in direct 1-2 kilometer sight of Georgian defense positions at Avnevi and Didmuha. The strategic importance of Khetagorogo was due to its position at the road connecting Georgian-controlled parts of south-western South Ossetia with Tskhinvali and giving access (2 kilometers north-east) to the only Ossetian-controlled road that connected Tskhinvali with

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

through South Ossetian town of

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. During the 2008 Battle for Tskhinvali, the village was assaulted, on the night from 7 to 8 of August, by the Georgian government troops. The Georgian side accused the Ossetian militias of using the village as their base for shelling of the nearby villages earlier in August 2008Timeline of Russian Aggression in Georgia
. Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Of Georgia. 25 August 2008 while South Ossetians claimed that Georgians had been shelling Khetagurovo from Avnevi" According to the then-de facto South Ossetian prime-minister Yuri Morozov, Khetagurovo was badly damaged by Georgian troops.Envoy sees bitter legacy of war in Ossetian village
Dmitry Solovyov,

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According to the Regnum News Agency, villagers said "Georgian forces burned down a church while terrified civilians perished inside". The report also said "Georgian soldiers kidnapped, raped and tortured young girls of Khetagurovo, Georgian tanks ran people down".Трагедия осетинских сёл Сатикари и Хетагурово
REGNUM News Agency. 10 Aug. 2008. A journalist of

claimed that on August 8, Georgian troops killed eight people and badly damaged the village. The Georgian government admitted that Khetagurovo was the "only ssetianvillage that sustained severe damage due to the location of substantial amounts of military equipment and forces around the village", but rejected claims about cruel or degrading treatment of the civilian population after the Georgian forces' seizure of the area. The

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

(HRW) fact-finding mission reported the "indiscriminate fire" by the Georgian troops and shelling of the village by multiple-launch rocket system "Grad" and tanks. According to HRW, at least four civilians died as a result of Georgian attack. But none of the villagers interviewed by it "complained about cruel or degrading treatment by Georgian servicemen, who searched the houses looking for remaining militias and arms."

Notes

External links

Ossetian village after bombing by Georgian forces — photo report

Село Хетагурово - боль Южной Осетии

{{Administrative divisions of South Ossetia Russo-Georgian War Populated places in Tskhinvali District