Russia accuses Georgia of violating cease-fire

Government forces battled separatists for strategic areas near South Ossetia’s main city as Georgia sought the upper hand in some of the worst fighting in the breakaway region since a war more than a decade ago.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused Georgia of violating cease-fire agreements and launching a large-scale offensive in an “unacceptable” effort to resolve the situation in South Ossetia by force.

South Ossetia’s military chief said three civilians died in Georgian shelling of Tskhinvali, the regional capital, while Georgian officials said three Georgian troops were killed overnight.

Following yesterday’s heavy fighting – a major show of force that drew sharp criticism from Russia – Georgia began withdrawing troops from the contested region, where Georgian officials said they had seized strategic heights.

Fighting has raged nightly in South Ossetia despite a cease-fire agreement negotiated last week.

Tensions in the tiny region, which broke away in 1992 following an 18-month war that killed hundreds, have flared since the January election of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, who vows to unite his fractured country.

Georgian Defence Ministry spokeswoman Natia Chikovani said three Georgian servicemen were killed and eight wounded overnight as separatists fired at Georgian troops’ positions outside ethnic Georgian villages in the region.

In what he called a counterattack, Georgian Interior Minister Irakly Okruashvili said government forces captured hills overlooking a road linking ethnic Georgian villages in South Ossetia with the rest of Georgia, and killed eight Cossack mercenaries.

South Ossetian officials denied the hills were captured and accused Georgia of launching a major assault on Tskhinvali. The region’s military chief, Anatoly Barankevich, said a Georgian shell killed three civilians – a man and his father and 14-year-old son – in a house on the outskirts of Tskhinvali.

Heavy explosions and the rattle of gunfire echoed through the streets of Tskhinvali through the day, and workers of the regional administration evacuated their headquarters after a shell exploded nearby.

Georgian officials have accused Russian peacekeepers of siding with separatists in South Ossetia, and protested the alleged deployment of members of armed nationalist Cossack groups and other Russian mercenaries.

Russia says it recognises Georgia’s borders, but it wields powerful influence in South Ossetia, where most residents have been given Russian passports and many want the region to become part of Russia.