>My understanding is that South Ossetia considers itself ethnically distinct from Georgia. With tacit Russian support and armed/guerrilla "resistance" they achieved a considerable amount of de facto autonomy.
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>However, it is also my understanding that this led to a power vacuum in South Ossetia which organized crime was quick to take advantage of. As a result, the region is now a hotbed of corruption, arms and drug dealing etc. With no de facto state authority, South Ossetia could basically be considered a "failed state", and as such has been a considerable nuisance to Georgia (putting it mildly).
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>South Ossetia is still, de jure, a part of Georgia and I think the Georgian incursion was/is an attempt to "clean up" this mess.

The more similarity to Kosovo and Metohija.