In the late 1980s , tensions grew between the Georgian and Abkhazian communities in the region . All-out war erupted between 1992-1993 which ended in a defeat of the Georgian government 's forces . Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Georgians were expelled from their homes in Abkhazia in an outbreak of mass ethnic cleansing in which thousands of Georgian civilians were massacred . Gagra and the Abkhazian capital Sukhumi were at the centre of the fighting and suffered heavy damage
ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia
Gagra