Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus

Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus (Russian: Конфедерация горских народов Кавказа) was a militarised political organisation in the Caucasus, active around the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, between 1991 and 1994. It played a decisive role in the 1992–1993 war between Abkhazian and Georgia, rallying militants from the North Caucasian republics to defend Abkhazia against Georgian forces. Its forces have been accused by Georgia of committing war crimes, including the ethnic cleansing of Georgians. The Confederation has been inactive since the assassination of its second leader Yusup Soslambekov in 2000.

Creation

On the initiative of the Abkhaz ethno-nationalist movement Aidgylara, the Assembly of the Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus was established in Abkhazia's capital Sukhumi on 25 and 26 August 1989. On 13 and 14 October 1990, the Assembly held its second congress in Nalchik, where it was transformed into the so-called Mountain Republic.^[2] On 4 November 1990, in Nalchik, its membership was expended, and it was renamed Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus.^[2] 16 nations of the Caucasus joined the Confederation. The Assembly elected the president (Musa Shanibov) and 16 vice-presidents. Yusup Soslanbekov was the chairman of the Caucasian Parliament and Sultan Sosnaliyev was appointed the head of the Confederation's military department.

War in Abkhazia

Following the outbreak of war as Georgian troops entered Abkhazia in August 1992, the Confederation held its 11th parliamentary session in Grozny. A clear purpose of the establishment of this organization became obvious after this Session. The Confederation created assault detachments of volunteers with that were later deployed in Abkhazia during the war. The confederation raised about 1,500 volunteers, half of them reportedly from Chechnya.^[3] It has also been reported that notorious Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev became commander of CMPC forces in 1992.^[4]

The president of the Confederation Musa Shanibov and the chairman of the parliament Iysuph Soslanbekov made an official statement:

"As there is no other way to withdraw Georgian occupants' army from the territory of the sovereign Abkhazia and in order to implement the resolution of the 10th Session of the CMPC, we order:^[5]

1. All headquarters of the Confederation have to dispatch volunteers to the territory of Abkhazia to crash the aggressor militarily.
2. All military formations of the Confederation have to conduct military actions against any forces who oppose them and try to reach the territory of Abkhazia by any method.
3. To announce Tbilisi as a zone of disaster. At that use all methods, including terrorist acts.
4. To declare all people of Georgian ethnicity on the territory of Confederation as hostages.
5. All type of cargoes directed to Georgia shall be detained."

The Central Headquarters of the Confederation led by Yusup Soslanbekov had been in charged to implement practical measures against the "enemies of Abkhazian people". CMPC forces took place in the storming operation of Gagra where hundreds of civilians were killed.

On October 3, Abkhazian and Confederate formations launched a full-scale attack on villages of Kamani and Shroma (near Gumista River) that was repelled by Georgian forces.

Sukhumi Massacre

On September 27, 1993 the Abkhaz side violated the UN-mediated cease-fire agreement (Georgian side had agreed to pull out all heavy artillery and tanks from Sukhumi in return for cease-fire) by storming defenceless Sukhumi. The Confederates moved into Sukhumi and started to sweep through streets of the city. As the city was engulfed by heavy fighting, civilians took refuge in abandoned houses and apartment buildings. Some of the civilians of Georgian ethnicity were massacred after their discovery by the Confederates. By late afternoon the remainder of Georgian troops surrendered to the Abkhaz side. The majority of Georgian POWs were executed on the same day by Abkhaz formations and Confederates. Few civilians and military personnel managed to survive the massacre. The massacre continued for two weeks after the fall of Sukhumi (See Ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia).^[6][7][8]

Later history

Following the Abkhazian war, the Confederation went into a period of decline due largely to the feuds among its pro- and anti-Kremlin factions. It experienced a brief revival in December 1994, when Shanibov rallied thousands across the North Caucasus to block roads to the Russian forces heading to Grozny. However, the change of power in Shanibov’s home republic, Kabardino-Balkaria, in favor of strongly pro-Moscow leader, prevented him from exerting any political influence in the region, forcing him to retire from politics in 1996. Since then, the organization has had no role in the Caucasus affairs.^[9] It never disbanded, but has been completely inactive since Shanibov’s successor, Yusup Soslambekov, was assassinated in Moscow on July 27, 2000.^[10]

Its forces have been accused (inter alia by Georgian State Commission of Ascertaining Facts of the Policies of Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide) of committing war crimes, including the ethnic cleansing of Georgians.^[11]

References

Abkhaz–Georgian conflict
Timeline	Abkhazian side	Georgian side
1989 Sukhumi riots 1991 Abkhazian New Union Treaty referendum 1991–1993 Georgian Civil War 1992–1993 War in Abkhazia 1992 Battle of Sukhumi October 1992 Battle of Gagra 1992–1993 Siege of Tkvarcheli July 1993 Kamani massacre September 1993 Transair Georgia airliner shootdowns September 1993 Sukhumi massacre Ethnic cleansing of Georgians 1993 Sochi agreement 1993–2009 United Nations observer mission 1994 Moscow agreement 1998 War in Abkhazia 2001 Kodori crisis 2006 Kodori crisis 2007 Georgia helicopter incident 2007 Georgia plane downing incident 2007 Bokhundjara incident 2008 Georgian spy plane shootdowns 2008 Khurcha incident 2008 Abkhazia bombings 2008 Achamkhara incident 2008 Russo-Georgian War Battle off the coast of Abkhazia Battle of the Kodori Valley 2008 Post-war events 2009 Russo-Georgian relations 2014 Abkhazian revolution	Military forces: Military of Abkhazia Abkhazian Air Force Bagramyan Battalion Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus Key leaders: Vladislav Ardzinba Sergei Bagapsh Alexander Ankvab Raul Khajimba	Military forces: Georgian Armed Forces Georgian Air Force Coast Guard of Georgia Mkhedrioni White Legion Forest Brothers Key leaders: Zviad Gamsakhurdia † Eduard Shevardnadze Mikheil Saakashvili Giorgi Margvelashvili