Troop clashes in South Ossetia

SIX Georgian troops were killed overnight in one of the most intensive exchanges of fire in breakaway South Ossetia, officials said.

Fighting has raged on a nightly basis in the tiny province despite a ceasefire agreement negotiated last week, and government and separatist officials blamed one another for breaking the truce.

The Georgian Defence Ministry said six Georgian servicemen were killed and seven were wounded overnight as separatists fired at government troops’ positions outside ethnic Georgian villages in the province.