Russian jets attack Georgian town
Aftermath of the air strikes in Gori
Russian jets have bombed a Georgian town amid a deepening crisis over the breakaway South Ossetia region.
Georgia says 60 people died in Gori when the bombs hit residential buildings as well as military targets.
Russian officials say hundreds of civilians have been killed in South Ossetia. Georgia denies the figure, which cannot be independently verified.
Reports say Russian PM Vladimir Putin has stopped in Russia's North Ossetia region on his return from the Olympics.
He arrived in the capital Vladikavkaz to discuss the influx of refugees from the conflict in South Ossetia, Russian media said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said earlier that his country was seeking "to force the Georgian side to peace".
 |   |
Russia's ambassador to Nato, Dmitry Rogozin, said there could be no "consultations" with Georgia until Georgian forces returned to their positions and re-established "the status quo".
Accounts differ over who controls South Ossetia's capital, with Moscow saying it has "liberated" Tskhinvali.
In another development, separatists in Abkhazia - Georgia's other breakaway region - said they had launched air and artillery strikes on Georgian forces in the Kodori Gorge.
The crisis began spiralling when Georgian forces launched a surprise attack on Thursday night to regain control of South Ossetia, which has had de facto independence since the end of a civil war in 1992.
The move followed days of exchanges of heavy fire with the Russian-backed separatists.
In response to the Georgian crackdown, Moscow sent armoured units across the border into South Ossetia.
The Georgian parliament has approved a presidential decree declaring a state of war for 15 days.
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has denounced Russian reports of a high civilian death toll from his forces as an "egregious lie".
Mr Saakashvili said he had decided to declare that Georgia was in a state of war because it was "under a state of total [Russian] military aggression".
Georgia is withdrawing its entire contingent of 2,000 troops from Iraq to help deal with the crisis.
US President George W Bush said the Russian attacks outside South Ossetia marked a "dangerous escalation in the crisis" and said Georgia's territorial integrity had to be respected.
"The attacks are occurring in regions of Georgia far from the zone of conflict in South Ossetia," he said while attending the Olympics.
"The violence is endangering regional peace."
Tskhinvali 'destroyed'
Fighting continued around Tskhinvali overnight and into Saturday morning, although not at the same intensity as on Friday, Russian media reported.
 Russia said Tskhinvali had been "liberated" from the Georgian military |
Later, the Russian Army's Ground Forces commander, Gen Vladimir Boldyrev, said his troops had "fully liberated" the city and were pushing Georgian forces back.
But the secretary of the Georgian National Security Council, Khakha Lomaia, insisted that the city remained "under the complete control of our troops".
Russian commanders, who said reinforcements were being sent to the region, confirmed that two Russian jets had been shot down over Georgia.
Speaking to Russian news agency Interfax, Russia's ambassador to Georgia, Vyacheslav Kovalenko, said on Saturday that 2,000 civilians and 13 Russian peacekeepers had been killed in Tskhinvali.
"The city of Tskhinvali no longer exists," he said. "It is gone. The Georgian military has destroyed it."
The International Red Cross (ICRC) said it had received reports that hospitals in the city were "overflowing" with casualties.
In Gori, Russian aircraft bombed mostly military targets, where Georgian troops had been massing to support their forces engaged in South Ossetia.
|  Our peacekeepers and the units attached to them are currently carrying out an operation to force the Georgian side to [agree to] peace  Russian President Dmitry Medvedev |
The BBC's Richard Galpin in Gori heard loud explosions and saw large plumes of smoke rising into the sky; soldiers and civilians were seen running through the streets.
Injured civilians were being pulled from the buildings, which were on fire.
The Georgian foreign ministry said the Black Sea port of Poti, the site of a major oil shipment facility, had been "devastated" by a Russian air raid.
Meanwhile Georgian TV reported that the Georgian-controlled section of the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia was under fire, blaming the bombardment on Russian forces.
The foreign minister in Abkhazia's self-declared government, Sergei Shamba, said Abkhaz forces had launched an attack aimed at driving Georgian forces out of the gorge.
It was not clear whether planes used in the attack on the gorge belonged to Russia or to the Abkhaz separatists.
Russia has a peacekeeping force in Abkhazia under an agreement made following civil wars in the 1990s, when the region declared independence and formed links with Moscow.
Territorial claims
President Medvedev said Russia's military aim in South Ossetia was to force the Georgians to stop fighting.
Russian minister defends action
"Our peacekeepers and the units attached to them are currently carrying out an operation to force the Georgian side to [agree to] peace," he said.
"They also bear the responsibility for protecting the population."
Speaking to the BBC, the Russian foreign minister insisted his country did not want all-out war with Georgia, but was prepared to do whatever was necessary to restore the situation in South Ossetia and to defend its civilian population, most of whom have been given Russian citizenship.
"Mr Saakashvili keeps saying that we want to chop off a part of Georgian territory," Mr Lavrov said.
| SOUTH OSSETIA TIMELINE 1991-92 S Ossetia fights war to break away from newly independent Georgia; Russia enforces truce 2004 Mikhail Saakashvili elected Georgian president, promising to recover lost territories 2006 S Ossetians vote for independence in unofficial referendum April 2008 Russia steps up ties with Abkhazia and South Ossetia July 2008 Russia admits flying jets over S Ossetia; Russia and Georgia accuse each other of military build-up 7 August 2008 After escalating Georgian-Ossetian clashes, sides agree to ceasefire; however Georgia launches a surprise attack 8 August 2008 Russia sends in columns of armour and troops and fighting erupts with Georgian forces in and around Tskhinvali 9 August 2008 Russian jets bomb central Georgian town of Gori, Russia says its troops have "liberated" Tskhinvali |
"He's also saying that this is not just about Georgia, this is about the future of Europe because he says Russia is also making territorial claims to other [countries], including the Baltic states, which is rubbish."
Mr Lavrov said Georgia had violated a peace deal under which Georgia had agreed not to use force in the South Ossetian dispute.
The BBC's James Rodgers in Moscow says diplomatic initiatives to end the fighting have so far proved fruitless.
On Friday evening, the UN Security Council failed to agree on the wording of a statement calling for a ceasefire.
The UK, the US and France, are pinpointing what they say is Russia's aggression as the key factor in the slide towards war, while Moscow insists Georgia is to blame.
RUSSIAN TODAY
News
AFP Photo / Vano ShlamovSouth Ossetian capital completely destroyed
The Chief of Russian ground forces, Igor Konashenkov, claims Georgian military action in Tskhinvali has destroyed all hospitals, killing many children. He also says the South Ossetian capital is almost ruined and left without water or electricity.Heavy fighting is reportedly still going on in the capital. Earlier, Georgian helicopters fired on Tskhinvali, hitting residential districts.
There are claims that Georgian Special Forces have been throwing grenades into basements where women and children are sheltering. According to the South Ossetian information committee, all types of weaponry are in use, including mortars, tanks and rocket launchers.
Officials on the ground say there's no sign of a ceasefire.
More than ten border villages have reportedly been burnt to the ground.
South Ossetia claims more than 2,000 people have been killed in fighting so far. Georgia rejects this figure, saying it has lost only 30 soldiers.
More than 30,000 refugees have fled across the border to Russia's North Ossetial in the past 36 hours.
The Russian military says three peacekeepers died overnight, raising to 15 the number of Russian peacekeepers killed since hostilities began more than 24 hours ago.
Seventy Russian peacekeepers have been wounded in the fighting. Twenty were evacuated to a hospital in Vladikavkas in North Ossetia during the night in a convoy which is reported to have been shelled by Georgian forces. That’s according to Land Forces spokesman Col. Igor Konashenkov.
After a lull in artillery fire late on Friday night, Georgian shelling of Tskhinvali again resumed on Saturday morning.
The Deputy Head of the Russian General Staff, Colonel General Anatoly Nogovitsin, briefed media on Russia's operations in the area in a press conference on Saturday morning (WATCH THE VIDEO).
Aerial attacks
South Ossetian forces are claiming to have shot down two Georgian fighter planes. The jets were reportedly downed near the capital Tskhinvali.
Two Russian aircraft have been downed in the conflict zone, confirmed a Russian peacekeeping forces spokesman on Saturday. Georgian media are reporting that one of the pilots has been captured, and another has been found dead.
Georgia claims Russian planes have bombed its Marneuli air base. Georgian state channel 'Rustavi' reported that four people were killed and five wounded in the attack. A video of the incident has been released by the channel. Several military aircraft have reportedly been destroyed.
The attack hasn't been confirmed by the Russian military.
Meanwhile, Russian television channels have been blocked across the country, according to the head of the international media centre in the capital Tbilisi.
No western cameras in South Ossetia
The conflict over Georgia’s breakaway republic is as much about information as it is about weapons. South Ossetia's press service claims Western media outlets can't be trusted because they haven't been operating in the region ”since the conflict began”.
“Only the Russian media and one Ukrainian channel have been filming in the breakaway republic. No western camera crews have been working in the conflict zone,” Suslan Bekoev, South Ossetian committee for information and press, said.
Diplomatic efforts
Earlier on Saturday, President Medvedev said Russia would bring the violence to an end.
In a meeting with Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, Medvedev said Russian peacekeepers would attempt to "force the Georgian side to stop fighting."
Meanwhile, a second emergency meeting of the UN Security Council has ended without agreement. It was held on Saturday morning, but no firm resolution to end the conflict was reached. (WATCH THE VIDEO)
Humanitarian concerns
South Ossetian authorities say Tbilisi's actions amount to genocide against the residents of the republic. Tskhinvali is reported to be in ruins, and five villages have been razed to the ground.
Tskhinvali and nearby villages are being evacuated. Both South Ossetians and Georgians are leaving the area. Those remaining are hiding in the underground shelters.
The situation reached the point that Georgian peacekeepers have been shooting at Russian peacekeepers. Now women, children and old people are dying in South Ossetia - most of them are citizens of the Russian Federation. According to the constitution, I, as the President of the Russian Federation, must protect lives and the dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are. Those responsible for the deaths of our citizens will be punished.
Russia and the international community have called on Georgia to pull its troops out of the region. Russian president Dmitry Medvedev says Moscow will take appropriate political and military measures to stop the violence in South Ossetia.
Tshinvali is reported to be short of medicine and water, while most of the city's communication networks have been destroyed. Russian peacekeepers are assisting remaining residents.
The Russian Emergency Ministry has sent a mobile hospital to North Ossetia where thousands of refugees have fled from South Ossetia. The Russian President has ordered the government to take urgent measures to provide humanitarian aid to those leaving the conflict zone. Efforts are under way to move the wounded and other vulnerable civilians.
Troop Build-up
Georgia's other breakaway republic, Abkhazia, says Georgia is building up military forces on its border. Earlier, the republic's president, Sergey Bagapsh, said he was ready to help South Ossetia.
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili told CNN on Friday that Georgia would withdraw its peacekeepers from Iraq. He has called on all reservists to immediately report for duty.
There are about 2,000 Georgian troops among coalition forces in Iraq, the third-largest contributor after the United States and Britain.
The future of South Ossetia has been disputed since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although it declared independence from Georgia in the early 90s, it has never been officially recognised (WATCH THE VIDEO).
Post this story to del.icio.us
没有评论:
发表评论