DHAKA: The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has said she will investigate Russian and Georgian forces over possible war crimes.

The investigation relates to a five-day conflict in 2008 centered on South Ossetia, a breakaway region of Georgia.

Fatou Bensouda said she had evidence suggesting South Ossetian forces killed up to 113 ethnic Georgian civilians, and both sides killed peacekeepers.

Russian forces may have participated in the killing of civilians, she added.

The war began with an operation by Georgia, which hoped to seize back South Ossetia.

But Russian troops army quickly retook the area and pushed deeper into Georgian territory, stopping just short of the capital, Tbilisi.

Nearly 1,000 people were killed while tens of thousands of Georgians living in the disputed areas were forced out of their homes.

The ICC said on Tuesday that Bensouda had evidence that both sides had killed peacekeepers - a war crime, the BBC publishes this report on Wednesday.

The statement said shells from South Ossetian positions had killed two Georgian peacekeepers, while Georgian forces had killed 10 Russian peacekeepers and destroyed a medical facility.

BDST: 1230 HRS, OCT 14, 2015
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