The Georgian village of Karateli lies seven kilometers north of Gori. While many buildings in the village are still standing, a large number of homes along the road have been destroyed and every store looted. Village residents recall being terrified as marauding bands swept into the village.

A woman named Marina, who requested that her family name not be used, said she was one of eight people who hid in a garage as the looting occurred. "Ossetians attacked us, they stole all our cars – didn’t leave a single one," she states. Indeed, the only vehicles to be seen in the town were all burned-out wrecks. Marina said that while she was in hiding, her house was pillaged and a storeroom burned.

Locals claim only a few Georgians were killed, although another village resident, Medea Bibilashvili, claimed that "some" young men were rounded up and taken away. The account could not be independently verified.