The war between the two banks of the river Dniestre broke with the attack of the rebel paramilitary formations on 2 March 1992
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With the attack on 2 March 1992 of the rebel paramilitary formations of Transnistria broke the armed conflict on Dniestre. On one hand, Moldova, practically without an army and military equipment, enters in war only with police and volunteers forces, and on the other hand the unrecognised republic with well armed paramilitary formations and Russian Kazaks, encouraged by certain influent circles of Moscow. According to archives and witnesses, militaries of 14-th Russian Army also were involved in the fights, which the armament it had to rebels.
The story of this was started on 27 August 1991, when the first parliament voted Moldova’s independence. On 2 march 1992, Moldova becomes UN member and in the same day the forces of the Transnistrian Guard and Kazak groups attack the police station of Dubasari – the last on that territory controlled by Chisinau. That day it broke the war where a country, attacked by paramilitary troops, defends itself with police forces.
On 21 June 1992, Russia’s president Boris Eltin threatens with military intervention if the fights on the Dniestre do not stop. In 2002, the chairman of the government of Russia then, Ghenadi Selezniov, recognises that Russia provoked the conflict, "in order to impede Bessarabia unification with Romania".
According to experts, the military support given by Russia to separatist regime of Tiraspol is showed by official documents. Since 1992 to 1996, of the Russian military unit located in the separatist region about 150 fighting technique was given to separatists, as well as over 3,000 tones of military patrimony.
The ex-prisoner of the separatist regime, Ilie Ilascu, said the war of 1992 was not a conflict between the two banks of the river Dniestre, but it was an aggression on behalf of Russia. The group of separatists and Russia are guilty of breaking this war, Ilascu mentioned.
The war lasted about 6 months, since March to October, when Russia, Ukraine, Romania and RM created “the quadripartite framework” to solve the conflict, from which later Romania was eliminated. Peace troops, created of Russian, Ukrainian and Moldovan soldiers, were installed along the Dniestre to impede the parts to fight further. According to certain analysts, this is an unprecedented practice – as peace forces are the same that fought.
For 14 years already, since the armed confrontations stopped, there are negotiations and are put all the efforts at international level, but the conflict is still unsolved, and human losses and material ones are not appreciated until now.
General Anton Gamurari, participant in fights, said that after 14 years of split of the national territory, the authorities did not manage to reintegrate both banks of the river, and a part of ex-combatants are abroad to earn their livings. Many of those who fought and risked their lives for the country were driven away of the ministries.
As many as 28,000 combatants, the majority of them policemen, participated in the war for independence and integrity of Moldova.