A general view taken on September 8, 200

A general view taken on September 8, 2008 shows the start of hearings of the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague in a legal bid by Georgia to end alleged “ethnic cleansing” by Russia in rebel Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The tribunal will hear three days of argument in the Georgian application for an order seeking to stop Russia “terrorizing” ethnic Georgians and allowing refugees to return to areas captured by Russia in a military campaign in Georgia last month. AFP PHOTO / KOEN VAN WEEL – netherlands out – belgium out – (Photo credit should read Koen van Weel/AFP/Getty Images)