Georgian army moves to retake South Ossetia

Georgian army moves to retake South Ossetia

Friday, Aug. 08, 2008

By MUSA SADULAYEVAPTSKHINVALI,

Georgia Georgian troops launched a major military offensiveFriday to regain control over the breakaway province of South Ossetiaand the president accused Russia, which has close ties to theseparatists, of bombing Georgian territory.The fighting was the worst outbreak of hostilities since the provincewon de-facto independence in a war that ended in 1992 - raising fearsthat war could once again erupt and draw in Russia, which haspeacekeepers in the region.

A Russian official denied bombing Georgia, but Russian state televisionsaid Russian troops were moving into South Ossetia and showed a convoyof tanks that it said had already crossed the border. The convoy wasexpected to reach the provincial capital, Tskhinvali, by evening,Channel One television said.

There was no immediate comment from Georgian officials.Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has warned that the Georgianattack will draw retaliation and the Defense Ministry pledged to protectSouth Ossetians, most of whom have Russian citizenship.

An Associated Press reporter saw tanks and other heavy weaponsconcentrating on the Russian side of the border with South Ossetia. Somevillagers were fleeing into Russia."I saw them (the Georgians) shelling my village," said Maria, who gaveonly her first name. She said she and other villagers spent the night ina field and then fled toward the Russian border as the fighting escalated.Separatist officials in South Ossetia said 15 civilians had been killedin fighting overnight. Georgian officials said seven civilians werewounded in bombing raids by Russia.

Putin - in Beijing to attend the Olympic opening ceremony - said anunspecified number of the peacekeepers have been wounded.Georgia has declared a three-hour cease-fire to allow civilians to leaveTskhinvali. Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili saidtroops were observing the cease-fire, which began at 3 p.m. local time(7 a.m. EDT).A spokesman for President Bush said Russia and Georgia should ceasehostilities and hold talks to end the conflict. NATO Secretary GeneralJaap de Hoop Scheffer said he is seriously concerned about the fightingand that the alliance is closely following the situation.

Georgia, which borders the Black Sea between Turkey and Russia, wasruled by Moscow for most of the two centuries preceding the breakup ofthe Soviet Union. The country has angered Russia by seeking NATOmembership - a bid Moscow regards as part of a Western effort to weakenits influence in the region.Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili long has pledged to restoreTbilisi's rule over South Ossetia and another breakaway province,Abkhazia. Both regions have run their own affairs without internationalrecognition since splitting from Georgia in the early 1990s and built upties with Moscow.

Associated Press writers Musa Sadulayev in South Ossetia, VladimirIsachenkov in Moscow and John Heilprin at the United Nations contributedto this report.