Hundreds killed as Russia raids Georgian town

Russian tanks and troops rumbled into the separatist Georgian province of South Ossetia today and Russian warplanes bombed a Georgian town – a major surge in border fighting that has killed hundreds of civilians in just two days and left some towns in smouldering ruins.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow sent troops into South Ossetia to force Georgia into a ceasefire and prevent Georgia from retaking control of its breakaway region. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Georgia had effectively lost the right to rule it – an indication Moscow could be preparing to fulfil South Ossetians’ wish to be absorbed into Russia.

US President George Bush called for an end to the Russian bombings and an immediate halt to the violence, while Georgia’s president said the invasion reflected Russia’s belief it could do whatever it wanted to its smaller neighbours.

“This is 100%, unprovoked brutal Russian invasion. This is about annihilation of a democracy on their borders,” Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili told the BBC.

“We on our own cannot fight with Russia. We want immediate ceasefire, immediate cessation of hostilities, separation of Russia and Georgia and international mediation.”

Medvedev’s office said Russia had not received the Georgian ceasefire proposal.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters in Moscow that some 1,500 people have been killed in South Ossetia, with the death toll rising, since Georgia launched an offensive to retake the region overnight on Friday. The figures could not be independently confirmed.

But residents of South Ossetia’s provincial capital of Tskhinvali gave at least some confirmation of Mr Lavrov’s shocking death toll, saying hundreds of civilians had died and bodies littered the streets after Georgia pounded Tskhinvali with heavy rocket and artillery fire. The residents survived the bombardment by hiding in basements and later fled the city.

It is the worst outbreak of hostilities since South Ossetia won de facto independence in a war against Georgia that ended in 1992. Russian troops went in as peacekeepers but Georgia alleges they now back the separatists.

Ethnic Ossetians live in the breakaway Georgian province and in the neighbouring Russian province of North Ossetia. Putin arrived late today in the Russian city of Vladikavkaz to talk to South Ossetian refugees who have fled the fight. He said there were at least 34,000 refugees.

“The actions of the Georgian powers in South Ossetia are, of course, a crime - first of all against their own people,” Mr Putin said. “The territorial integrity of Georgia has suffered a fatal blow.”

Russia, which has granted citizenship to most South Ossetians, also laid much of the responsibility for ending the fighting on Washington, which has trained Georgian troops. Washington, in turned, blamed Russia.

“I’m deeply concerned about the situation in Georgia,” Mr Bush said in a statement to reporters while attending the Olympic Games in Beijing. “The attacks are occurring in regions of Georgia far from the zone of conflict in South Ossetia. They mark a dangerous escalation in the crisis.”

“We have urged an immediate halt to the violence and a stand-down by all troops. We call for an end to the Russian bombings, and a return by the parties to the status quo,” the statement said.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Mr Bush had spoken with both Mr Medvedev and Mr Saakashvili. But it was unclear what might persuade either side to stop shooting – both claim the other violated a ceasefire declared on Thursday.

Georgia, which borders the Black Sea between Turkey and Russia, was ruled by Moscow for most of the two centuries preceding the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union. Georgia has angered Russia by seeking Nato membership – a bid Moscow regards as part of a Western effort to weaken its regional influence.

In another ominous development, the chances of an even wider war in the Caucasus region increased when Russian-supported separatists Abkhazia – another breakaway region of Georgia – also targeted Georgian troops by launching air and artillery strikes to drive them out.

Alexander Lomaia, secretary of Georgia’s Security Council, estimated that Russia sent 2,500 troops into Georgia. The Russian military would not comment on the number of troops – by late Saturday, Russian military commanders claimed they had driven Georgian forces out of Tskhinvali, a claim that Mr Saakashvili denied.

Russia’s ambassador to Nato Dmitry Rogozin said “98 percent of Tskhinvali” was in ruins. “Our troops have re-established control over the city,” he said.

Smoke rose from the city, and intermittent artillery shelling and sporadic gunfire could still be heard.

Georgian forces knocked out about 40 Russian tanks around Tskhinvali, said Georgia’s Deputy Interior Minister Eka Sguladze. “Our units are well-equipped with anti-tank rockets, and they thwarted a Russian tank attack,” she told reporters.

Georgia, meanwhile, accused Russia of bombing its air bases and the town of Gori, just outside South Ossetia.

An AP reporter who visited Gori shortly after the Russian airstrikes saw several apartment buildings in ruins, some still on fire, and scores of dead bodies and bloodied civilians. The elderly, women and children were among the victims.

The Russian warplanes appeared to have been targeting a military base in Gori’s outskirts that also was bombed.

The Interior Ministry said Russian warplanes also bombed the Vaziani military base on the outskirts of the Georgian capital of Tbilisi and struck near the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. The ministry said two other military bases were hit, and that Russian warplanes also bombed the Black Sea port city of Poti, which has a sizeable oil shipment facility.

Georgia, meanwhile, said it has shot down 10 Russian planes, including four brought down today, according to Lomaia. It also claimed to have captured two Russian pilots, who were shown on Georgian television.

Russian Colonel General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of the General Staff, confirmed that two Russian planes had been shot down, but did not say where or when.

Mr Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said Georgia brought the airstrikes upon itself by bombing civilians and Russian peacekeepers. He warned that the small Caucasus country should expect more attacks.

“Whatever side is used to bomb civilians and the positions of peacekeepers, this side is not safe and they should know this,” Mr Lavrov said.

Mr Lavrov said the US should bear some of the blame for Georgia’s aggression because of the role it played in arming and training Georgian troops.

Russian military commanders said 15 peacekeepers have been killed and about 150 wounded in South Ossetia, accusing Georgian troops of killing and wounding Russian peacekeepers when they seized Russian checkpoints. The allegations couldn’t be independently confirmed.

In Abkhazia, the separatist government said it intended to push Georgian forces out of the Kodori Gorge.

The northern part of the gorge is the only area of Abkhazia that has remained under Georgian government control. Mr Lomaia confirmed that Georgian administrative buildings in the Kodori Gorge were bombed, but he blamed the attack on Russia.

Mr Saakashvili, a US-educated lawyer, has long pledged to restore Tbilisi’s rule over South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Both regions have run their own affairs without international recognition since splitting from Georgia in the early 1990s and have built up ties with Moscow.