After a week of intense conflict between Russian and Georgian forces, civilians in the Georgian town of Gori are now suffering a wave of armed looting.

News reports say lawlessness has taken over the town and its surrounding areas since its occupation by Russian forces. During negotiations over Russia’s withdrawal from Gori, rebels from South Ossetia are believed to be taking advantage of the insecurity in the area, attacking villages and robbing civilians at gunpoint. A Georgian television correspondent was injured by a sniper while reporting on live TV. Russia has pledged to end the violence, but Russian troops themselves may have been involved in some attacks.

The conflict began on 7 August after Georgian forces attacked separatists in South Ossetia, a region seeking independence from Georgia. In retaliation, Russia deployed its troops into South Ossetia to support the separatists. This led to several days of air bombings and military fighting. A ceasefire was agreed on 12 August, but both sides have since reported violations of the peace deal. On the day after the peace agreement, Russian forces crossed into Georgia to occupy the town of Gori and a nearby arms depot.

Georgia has reported the death of 175 people, mostly civilians, while Russia claims 2,000 have been killed in South Ossetia. The United Nations estimates that nearly 100,000 people have been displaced.

The United Nations has expressed strong concerns over the emerging humanitarian crisis and called on the armies to ‘ensure that the current state of lawlessness ceases’.

Click here to read a background paper on the conflict by Belgian research institute GRIP