As Russian troops fall back, watch out for the ‘irregulars’

University of Texas

More bad news for Georgia on the war’s second front: Rebels from Abkhazia, the country’s other breakaway province, have entered Georgia proper and planted a flag in an attempt reclaim what they say is historically Abkhazian territory. The Abkhazians met no resistance and mocked the retreating Georgian troops, saying they had received “American training in running away.”

There are also extremely disturbing reports of Russian tanks moving through Georgian villages near the Ossetian border this morning followed by columns of “irregulars” including Ossetians, Chechens, and Cossacks.

The Guardian‘s Luke Harding reports:

Eyewitnesses say they are looting, killing and burning. These irregulars have killed three people and set fire to villages. They have been taking away young boys and girls.”

Saakashvili now seems completely out of options for defending his country’s sovereignty or protecting Georgian civilians from the violence. It may not be long until sentiments like this become more common:

Why did [Saakashvili] take on Russia with 10,000 soldiers? Maybe he was thinking somebody would help us. But nobody did help us,” Bacho Janashia, a 24-year-old student said. He added: “We hope Saakashvili disappears from Georgia.” Why? “Because he’s a bastard.”