Georgia and South Ossetia commemorate second anniversary of war

Aug 8, 2010, 10:52 GMT

Tbilisi/Moscow - Georgian and South Ossetian leaders Sunday commemorated the second anniversary of the outbreak of the 2008 Georgia-Russia conflict, which cost hundreds of lives.

In the Georgian city of Gori and in Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, which broke away from Tbilisi during the war, the inhabitants lit candles and laid flowers for the victims.

'Our struggle will continue until the last occupant leaves the Georgian land, until justice is restored to hundreds of thousands of our citizens of various ethnicities,' the Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said in a video message, according to the website civil.ge.

Georgia lost control of South Ossetia and the region of Abkhazia during the five-day war. Moscow has recognized both regions as independent states and called Saakashvili a 'war monger.'

Eduard Kokioty, president of the South Ossetia republic which is not internationally recognized, said in a speech, 'They say that time heals all wounds - but it will never soothe the pain in our hearts.'

An independent European committee concluded that Georgia sparked the war by attacking Tskhinvali overnight on August 8, 2008.

Numerous western leaders had approved Russia's actions during the war in personal talks, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev claimed recently.