An Uncertain Death Toll In Georgia-Russia War

Manana Rodiashvili, 55, a Georgian from South Ossetia, fled her village and spent five nights hiding in an orchard. (By Tara Bahrampour -- The Washington Post)
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"Those who were afraid got out," said Eteri Kudzieva, 50, a resident of Tskhinvali.

Most Georgians initially stayed in their villages, figuring that the sporadic fighting of recent weeks would not affect them.

Georgian forces began shelling on the evening of Aug. 7.

"At first, it was like what we were used to sometimes before," said Armen Bididov, 60, of Tskhinvali. "Then it just kept getting worse and worse and worse." He pointed to stone shambles. "This was my house," he said.

Some Georgian villages also appear to have been hit by Georgian shells that night.

The next morning, the Georgian army rolled through Ossetian villages, shooting randomly at houses and entering some to search for uniforms and weapons.

According to Ossetian villagers, they seemed surprised to find people still inside.

Most ethnic Georgians began fleeing south when they saw the Georgian army retreating the following day. At the same time, Ossetians fled north along a road where Georgian forces had bombed Russian troops.

While Ossetian residents reported sporadic instances of looting by Georgian soldiers -- a DVD player here, an electric shaver there -- there were few reports of violence, and most deaths among Ossetians seem to have been caused by shelling.

"Nobody told us about any mistreatment, any cruelty by the Georgians as they entered the houses," said Anna Neistat, a senior emergencies researcher for Human Rights Watch, who spent several days interviewing witnesses in South Ossetia and Russia.

There were, however, detentions on both sides.

Georgian civilians have reported being rounded up by Ossetian militiamen, held in Tskhinvali and forced to bury the war dead. About 80 people released Thursday, including many women and elderly, said at least 75 men are still captive there.