Русская версияRussian and Georgian armed forces were locked in combat on Friday,
Aug.
8, over control of the Caucasus region South Ossetia, with
hundreds of civilians reported killed or injured.
Eduard Kokoity, South Ossetia's leader, said more than 1,400
civilians had died as a result of the combat beginning in sporadic
firefights on Aug. 1, and shifting to full-blown warfare early on
Thursday.
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Eduard Kokoity wants independence for South Ossetia
Georgian fire killed at least 10 Russian peacekeepers stationed in
the breakaway Georgian province in severe fighting centered in the
South Ossetian capital city Tskhinvali, Russian army spokesmen
said.
Georgian diplomats contradicted Kokoity's estimates, saying known
civilian loss of life in the town was less than 20, and injured in
the dozens.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in a nationwide television
statement said his country's troops controlled a "large part of
South Ossetia" and have "liberated" Tskhinvali.
In an interview with CNN, Saakashvili said that Georgia and Russia
were practically at war.
"We have Russian tanks moving in," he said. "We have continuous
Russian bombardment since yesterday ... specifically targeting the
civilian population. Russia is fighting a war with us in our own
territory."
Russians assist South Ossetians
Russian army sources said Russian artillery and tank fire had
halted a Georgian offensive into the region that began Thursday,
inflicted substantial casualties on Georgian forces, and were
assisting a South Ossetian counterattack.
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Artillery, mortars, tanks, ground attack aircraft, helicopters and
salvo rocket launchers were among the weapons reportedly used by
one or both of the warring sides in house-to-house fighting in the
city, and in regions around it.
Russian artillery deployed on the north side of Tskhinvali fired
directly on Georgian artillery in the mid-afternoon, forcing a
Georgian retreat from the city center, according to Russian army
spokespeople.
Massive damage
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Georgian soldiers in South Ossetia
Georgian television early evening on Friday aired images seemingly
showing Tskhinvali's center fully under Georgian control. Georgian
media also reported a pair of Russian aircraft shot down earlier in
the day -- a claim flatly denied by the Kremlin.
Russian air force combat operations over Georgia appeared, however,
to be an established fact, with a strike by Su-25 ground attack
aircraft against a Georgian military base near the town of Gori
confirmed by Georgian officials, without giving information of the
effects of the bombing.
Tanks, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery and
support elements of Russia's 58th army began entering South Ossetia
by mid-morning. Russian diplomats described the de facto
intervention as "support to Russian peacekeepers" and "protection
of the local population."
News reports from Russia and Georgia both told of massive damage to
offices and homes throughout Tskhinvali. Eyewitnesses described
entire city blocks as flattened by shelling.
Georgian television showed images of soldiers wounded in the
fighting, but gave no casualty numbers.
Protecting Russians
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, speaking earlier in the day,
said Russia had no choice but to take action to protect its
citizens.
"We will not let the deaths of our citizens go unpunished, the
guilty will incur the punishment they deserve," Medvedev said in
his first statement since heavy fighting erupted, claiming six
casualties in weekend clashes.
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Saakashvili says Georgia is a peace-loving country
On the Georgian side, Saakashvili's national televised address
called for full mobilization.
"Hundreds of thousands of Georgians should stand together to save
Georgia," he said.
Television images on Friday showed long Georgian military convoys
heading towards South Ossetia and also Abkhazia, a second renegade
Georgian province supported by Moscow.
The pro-Western Saakashvili, who with US backing is bidding for
Georgia to join NATO, has made re-asserting control over both the
rebellious regions a top priority of his presidency.
South Ossetia had become a lawless region ruled by bandits and
dangerous to regional stability and Georgia's right to assert state
control over the province was guaranteed under the Georgian
constitution, Saakashvili argued.
Moscow, in turn, has been angered by the former Soviet country's
rapprochement with the alliance and moved to strengthen ties with
the rebel government. The Kremlin's support to South Ossetia has
long been seen in Tbilisi as a first Russian step towards de facto
annexation of the Georgian territory.
Over 2,500 Russian peacekeeping troops have been stationed in the
province since a 1994 ceasefire ending fighting between the
Georgian army and Ossetian separatists.
UN Security Council to meet
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The UN Security Council is resuming talks in a bid for a ceasefire
in South Ossetia
The United Nations Security Council has called another emergency
meeting scheduled for Friday afternoon in New York, after failing
on Thursday night to agree on a response to the escalation of
violence in Georgia.
Thursday's late night meeting was called by Russia, whose
ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, accused Georgia of aggressive behavior
toward the breakaway region of South Ossetia.
Friday's meeting has been requested by Georgia, whose ambassador to
the UN Irakli Alasania said that the threat to the independence,
sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia must be addressed
immediately.
Alasania, in a letter to the council's president, said Russian
troops had invaded Georgian territory and Russian planes had bombed
targets in the country.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern about the latest
fighting in a statement issued on Thursday in New York and urged
warring parties to refrain from action that could endanger
stability in their region.
For information on international reactions and an analysis of the
escalating violence in South Ossetia, please click on the links
below.
(Deutsche Welle)
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