The International Press Institute (IPI) has expressed concern over new legislative initiatives by the Georgian government and ruling party that restrict independent media funding.
On August 7, 2008, a column of Russian armored vehicles entered the Tskhinvali region of South Ossetia through the Roki Tunnel. This was the beginning of the short-lived Russian-Georgian war.
412 people were killed during the conflict, including 228 civilians, 170 soldiers, and 14 police officers. Of the 1,747 wounded, many were permanently disabled. There were also 130,000 internally displaced persons, 30,000 of whom still live in exile.
According to human rights activists, Russia has been installing barbed wire between Georgia and the occupied territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia for all these years. The Russian Federation is not implementing the ceasefire agreement of August 12, 2008, brokered by the European Union, and is expanding its control in the occupied regions.