These photographs were taken in Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia, during the last phase of the 1992-93 war between Georgian forces and Abkhaz separatists. The conflict unfolded against the backdrop of the civil war in Georgia. Fighting in Abkhazia began in August 1992, when Georgian forces entered the region and quickly took Sukhumi.

Over the following year the Abkhaz side, backed by North Caucasian volunteers and Russian military support, regained ground. A series of ceasefire agreements was signed, the last of them on 27 July 1993. The final battle ran from 16 to 27 September 1993. After a week and a half of fierce fighting, control of the city passed from Georgian units to Abkhaz formations supported by the Russian military. About 200,000 Georgians, nearly half of Abkhazia's pre-war population, were forced from their homes.

Abkhazia remains internationally recognised as part of Georgia, and the war is remembered very differently on each side. In Abkhazia it is commemorated as the "Patriotic War of the People of Abkhazia", while in Georgia it is mourned for the fall of Sukhumi and the mass displacement that followed.

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