On May 20, 1992, a convoy of peaceful Ossetian citizens who were trying to escape from the besieged Tskhinval, was despicably and inhumanly shot down at point-blank range from an ambush by armed Georgian militants on the Zar “road of life”.
33 people – innocent children, women and the elderly, who were killed for the sole reason that they were Ossetians, became victims of that barbaric atrocity.
Among the bloody crimes committed by Georgian fascist regimes in different years as a result of the policy of genocide of the Ossetian people, the Zar tragedy is distinguished by particular cruelty. As other atrocities against humanity - mass killings of civilians, known to the world history, it has no statute of limitations and cannot be forgotten.
Over the past years, the Ossetian people have been living with the pain of this tragedy, never for a moment forgetting the horrors inflicted on civilians.
Despite the fact that neither the Zar tragedy has received a proper political and legal assessment across the international arena nor the perpetrators have been brought to justice, the people of South Ossetia do not lose hope that sooner or later the perpetrators will be punished and justice will be restored and prevail.
In modern conditions, when there are attempts to conceal, distort facts and rewrite history, the Ossetian people, cherishing the terrible days of May 1992, are building their future based on the historical memory, in order to prevent the recurrence of such bloody tragedies.
Today, at the site of the tragedy near the village of Zar, where the memorial “Grieving Mother” was erected in memory of the victims, according to the established tradition, hundreds of people gathered to recall the events that took place 33 years ago. A minute of silence was observed for the innocent victims on the Zar road and all those who fell at the hands of Georgian aggressors in the struggle for freedom and independence of our Motherland.
The mourning event was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia A. M. Dzhioev and employees of the Ministry.
20 May 2025