Visiting Hell: How Relatives Identified the Dead in the March Offensive

One of the most tragic events of the Patriotic War of the Abkhazian people in 1992-1993 was the March Offensive.
On March 15, 1993, during a counterattack, Abkhazian fighters crossed the Gumista River and seized strategically important heights near Sukhum, marking the beginning of the operation to liberate Sukhum. However, like the offensive on January 5, 1993, this offensive did not progress beyond this initial stage.
After bloody battles, the Abkhazian units were forced to retreat to their original positions. In the battles for Sukhum in March 1993, more than 200 fighters of the Abkhazian army were killed, and over 20 went missing.
Those who died after crossing the Gumista River were buried in a mass grave alongside others who perished in the battle, near the Republican Hospital. After the end of the war in November 1993, it became possible to re-bury those who were initially considered missing. The relatives identified the deceased soldiers by their clothing and personal belongings, although some remained unidentified. abkhazworld.co...