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Russia says has control of S.Ossetian capital
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-09 18:13 GORI - Russia said it had driven Georgian forces from the capital of South Ossetia on Saturday as part of an operation to force Georgia to accept peace in its breakaway region.
Russian warplanes widened the offensive outside the immediate conflict zone to include strikes deep inside Georgia on the second day of fighting that threatens international oil and gas pipelines.
Russian officials said the death toll now stood at 1,500 and 30,000 refugees from South Ossetia had fled to Russia over the past 36 hours. Russia admitted that two of its warplanes had been shot down. Russia's military response to the crisis dramatically intensified a long-running stand-off between Russia and the Georgian leadership that has sparked alarm in the West. Russia accused the West of contributing to the violence by supplying Georgia with arms. Ukraine, a former Soviet republic whose government now aspires to membership of NATO and the European Union, had encouraged Georgia to carry out "ethnic cleansing" in South Ossetia, the Russian foreign ministry said. Russia said its forces had taken the South Ossetian capital. "Tactical groups have fully liberated Tskhinvali from the Georgian military and have started pushing Georgian units beyond the zone of peacekeepers' responsibility," Tass quoted Russian Ground Forces commander Vladimir Boldyrev as saying. |
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