Inal Pliyev, who led the South Ossetian information department of the Joint Control Commission for the South Ossetian-Georgian settlement, took part in a press conference in Berlin along with other eyewitnesses of the conflict.
"The OSCE had a mission in Georgia and a field office in Tskhinvali. The office personnel and mission leaders were informed that Georgia was moving military hardware into the region, but mission chiefs concealed this information from the OSCE leadership," Pliyev said.
He said Georgia managed to circle the Ossetian capital with over 40 howitzers, 70 or 80 tanks, armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles prior to the attack. He added that the Georgian side had also evacuated ethnic Georgians from the region.
As a result, Tskhinvali sustained heavy damage from the Georgian assault, which left hundreds of civilians dead. Russia sent in its military to force Georgia to peace and protect South Ossetians, most of whom have Russian passports.
Russia's intervention and subsequent recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another separatist Georgian region, as independent provoked a wave of criticism in Western countries.
