 Russian military column pulls out
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-21 08:32 A Russian military column crossed from Georgia back into Russia yesterday after Western governments raised pressure for a quick and full pullout under an international ceasefire deal. A correspondent near the Roki tunnel that links Russia with Georgia's pro-Russian rebel province of South Ossetia said a dozen trucks crossed the frontier around midday. He said he could see more Russian military vehicles in the distance moving from South Ossetia towards the border. There was no sign of armored vehicles. Western powers, working through the United Nations and NATO, have raised pressure on Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to speed a promised pullout after two weeks of violent confrontation. Medvedev announced on Sunday his troops would begin withdrawing on Monday. But Washington said on Tuesday it had yet to see any serious pullout. NATO said it was freezing contacts with Russia, but stopped short of promising the membership Georgia seeks. The Kremlin quoted Medvedev on Tuesday as telling French President Nicolas Sarkozy by telephone that most Russian forces would withdraw to Russia or to South Ossetia by tomorrow, leaving some troops in a buffer zone around the breakaway region. Some Russian troops have already begun adopting the colors of peacekeepers, but there is still uncertainty over where and in what numbers they may be stationed after the pullout. Medvedev told Sarkozy he agreed to the presence of observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in the buffer zone, a French statement said. Russian death toll A top Russian general said yesterday that 64 of the country's soldiers were killed in this month's fighting with Georgia and 323 were wounded. The figure given by Colonel General Anatoly Nogovistsyn, deputy head of the general staff, reduces the fatality toll from the initial figure of 74 but substantially raises the number of wounded. Russia previously had said about 170 were wounded. Earlier this month, Georgia cracked down on the breakaway territory of South Ossetia, which is aligned with Moscow and wants independence. Russia responded by sending its troops and tanks across the Georgian border. Georgian officials have said they lost 160 soldiers and that 300 are missing. Russia claims Georgian losses are much higher. Civilian casualties remain unclear. South Ossetian officials yesterday said 1,492 civilians in the breakaway province had been killed. The investigative committee of the Russian prosecutor general's office yesterday confirmed 133 civilian deaths in South Ossetia, but said it could not be sure of a complete figure because many victims had already been buried. Agencies (China Daily 08/21/2008 page21) |
