Bagramyan Battalion

The Bagramyan Battalion (Armenian: Բաղրամյանի անվան գումարտակ) was a battalion formed in Abkhazia, Georgia and predominantly composed of ethnic Armenians living in Abkhazia that fought together with Russia backed separatist Abkhaz forces during the War in Abkhazia (1992–93).^[1] Named in honour of the Soviet Armenian Marshal Ivan Bagramyan, the battalion's declared purpose was to expel Georgian forces from Georgian territory and support Russo-Abkhazian forces,^[2] but later was accused in ethnic cleansing of Georgians and in Sukhumi massacre.^[3][4]

Bagramyan Battalion is considered as a terrorist organization in Western countries.^[5][6][7][8] The Bagramyan Battalion directed its attacks against Georgians living in Abkhazia. Together with other Abkhazian groups, they were able to ethnically cleanse the region of Georgians, forcing some 250,000 to flee. The Battalion was reported to have been disbanded in 1996, but in 1998 a high-profile terrorist attack in Georgia was attributed to it.^[9]

On 10 May 1998, during hostilities leading to Six-Day War in Abkhazia (20–26 May 1998), there was a fire initiated on one of administrative buildings of the power grid in Mziuri. No one was injured in the attack. The Tbilisi-based Prime-News agency reported it was done by the members of the battalion.^[10] According to the official Georgian reports, the battalion was dispatched by the de facto Abkhaz authorities to the predominantly Georgian-populated Gali district specifically for punitive operations.^[11]

References

1. Bagramyan Battalion MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base
2. Abkhazia Armenians: Holding a home in an unstable territory, AGBU, 1 November 2004
3. "14 years since massacre in Kamani".
4. Gamakharia, Jemal (2015). INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY TO BRING A VERDICT ON THE TRAGEDY OF ABKHAZIA/GEORGIA (PDF). Tbilisi: SUPREME COUNCIL OF THE AUTONOMOUS REPUBLIC OF ABKHAZIA/GEORGIA. ISBN 978-9941-461-12-5.
5. Jones, Seth G. "HOW TERRORIST GROUPS END Lessons for Countering al Qa'ida" (PDF). Rand Corporation. RAND Corporation.
6. A. Piazza, James. "Terrorism and Political Violence" (PDF). Department of Political Science, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA. Routledge, UK.
7. "Terrorist Organization Profile:Bagramyan Battalion". "Terrorist Organization Profile: Bagramyan Battalion". National Consortium for The Study of Terrorism and Response to Terrorism. University of Maryland.
8. "TRAC ANALYSIS: TACTICS - Genocide as a Terrorist Tactic". TERRORISM RESEARCH & ANALYSIS CONSORTIUM.
9. Tan, Andrew T .H. "Politics of Terrorism: A Survey". Rutledge, London.
10. Bagramyan Battalion attacked Utilities target (May 10, 1998, Georgia), Information Source Tbilisi Prime-News
11. Vakhtang Kholbaia, Raphiel Gelantia, David Latsuzbaia, Teimuraz Chakhrakia (trans. Nana Japaridze-Chkhoidze; 1999), Labyrinth of Abkhazia, page 34. The Parliament of Georgia, Tbilisi.