At the height of the secessionist war in Abkhazia in 1993 , the Georgians of Gali were subjected to systematic ethnic cleansing at the hands of the Abkhaz militias and their allies from Russia 's North Caucasian republics . By November 1993 , most of the Gali District had been controlled by the secessionist with the exception of a few isolated enclaves evacuated by the Georgian forces according to the Russian-brokered ceasefire accord in 1994 . Since then , some 40,000 – 60,000 Georgians have sporadically returned to the Gali District , but the process was significantly thwarted by the outbreak of hostilities in May 1998 . In response to the attempt by the Georgian guerrillas to recover the area , the Abkhaz forces launched a large sweep into the district . Despite the criticism from opposition , Eduard Shevardnadze , President of Georgia , refused to deploy troops against Abkhazia . A ceasefire was negotiated on May 20 , 1998 . The hostilities resulted in hundreds of casualties on both sides and displaced an additional 30,000 – 40,000 Georgians . Although many families soon came back , the clashes left some 1,500 homes and infrastructure , including some that had been recently rehabilitated with international funding , in ruins . The United Nations Joint Assessment Mission to the Gali District confirmed , in 2000 , that homes and infrastructure were deliberately burned and looted during the Abkhaz offensive
ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia
Gali District, Abkhazia