BBC finds evidence of Georgian ‘war crimes’

The British Broadcasting Corporation is reporting that it has obtained evidence suggesting that Georgia may have committed war crimes during its attack on South Ossetia in August. The BBC says it gathered the evidence during the first unrestricted visit to South Ossetia since the conflict.

Describing Georgia’s military assault as ‘reckless’, UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he had raised the ‘war crimes’ allegations with the government in Tbilisi.

The Georgian President, Mikhail Saakashvili, has denied that the Georgian army committed war crimes during its 5-day conflict with South Ossetian forces backed by the Russian military.

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BBC correspondent Tim Whewell said in a radio programme that witnesses told him that Georgian soldiers shelled South Ossetian houses and targeted civilians trying to flee the fighting.

Whewell added that an international investigative organisation, Human Rights Watch, had also found evidence of the indiscriminate use of military force by the Georgian military.