Georgian army moves to retake South Ossetia
Friday, August 08, 2008
By MISHA DZHINDZHIKHASHVILI, Associated Press Writer
TBILISI, Georgia — Russian television reports that Russian troops are moving into South Ossetia.
The development comes hours after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned Georgia that its attack on South Ossetia will draw retaliation.
Georgian troops move to retake rebel province
Fears that conflict may widen as Russia’s Putin warns of 'retaliatory actions'
Georgian troops fire rockets at a South Ossetian separatist territory near a settlement in Ergneti, 59 miles from Tbilisi, on Friday.
updated 52 minutes ago
TBILISI, Georgia - Georgian troops launched a major military offensive Friday to regain control over the breakaway province of South Ossetia and the president accused Russia, which has close ties to the separatists, of bombing Georgian territory.
A Russian official denied the bombing. But Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the Georgian attack will draw retaliation and the Defense Ministry pledged to protect South Ossetians, most of whom have Russian citizenship.
The fighting in South Ossetia has raised fears of an all-out war that could draw in Russia, which has peacekeepers in the region. Putin said an unspecified number of the peacekeepers have been wounded.
An Associated Press reporter saw tanks and other heavy weapons concentrating on the Russian side of the border with South Ossetia and villagers were fleeing into Russia.
“I saw them (the Georgians) shelling my village,” said Maria, who gave only her first name. She looked shocked and was reluctant to speak. She said she and other villagers spent the night in a field and then fled toward the Russian border as the fighting escalated.
NATO has called for an immediate end to fighting. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said he is seriously concerned about the fighting and that the alliance is closely following the situation.
Separatist officials in South Ossetia said 15 civilians had been killed in fighting overnight. Georgian officials said seven civilians were wounded in bombing raids by Russia.
South Ossetia officials said Georgia attacked with aircraft, armor and heavy artillery. Georgian troops fired missiles at the regional capital, Tskhinvali, an official said, and many buildings were on fire. The Russian news agency Interfax said a hospital was hit by Georgian shelling.
Full mobilization
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said Russian aircraft bombed several Georgian villages and other civilian facilities.
“A full-scale aggression has been launched against Georgia,” Saakashvili said in a televised statement.
He also announced a full military mobilization with reservists being called into action.
Seven civilians were wounded when three Russian Su-24 jet bombers flew into Georgia and bombed the town of Gori and the villages of Kareli and Variani, Deputy Interior Minister Eka Sguladze said at a briefing.
She said four Russian jets later bombed Gori, the hometown of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, but that raid didn’t cause any casualties.
Saakashvili urged Russia to immediately stop bombing Georgian territory. “Georgia will not yield its territory or renounce its freedom,” he said.
A senior Russian diplomat in charge of the South Ossetian conflict, Yuri Popov, dismissed the Georgian claims of Russian bombings as “disinformation,” the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.
Moscow denounces ‘dirty adventure’
Russia’s Defense Ministry denounced the Georgian attack as a “dirty adventure.” “Blood shed in South Ossetia will weigh on their conscience,” the ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site.
“We will protect our peacekeepers and Russian citizens,” it said without elaboration.
Georgia, which borders the Black Sea between Turkey and Russia, was ruled by Moscow for most of the two centuries preceding the breakup of the Soviet Union. The country has angered Russia by seeking NATO membership — a bid Moscow regards as part of a Western effort to weaken its influence in the region.
Saakashvili long has pledged to restore Tbilisi’s rule over South Ossetia and another breakaway province, Abkhazia. Both regions have run their own affairs without international recognition since splitting from Georgia in the early 1990s and built up ties with Moscow.
Most residents of South Ossetia and Abkhazia have Russian passports. An open war could prompt Russian to send in more forces under the claim of protecting its citizens.