Battle erupts over Georgia's breakaway region

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Battle erupts over Georgia's breakaway region

10 Russian peacekeepers reportedly killed as tanks said to enter region

TSKHINVALI, Georgia - Georgian troops launched a major military

offensive Friday to regain control over the breakaway province of

South Ossetia, prompting a furious response from Russia — which vowed

retaliation and sent a column of tanks into the region.

The Associated Press quoted a Russian military officer as saying that

10 Russian peacekeepers have been killed and another 30 wounded in

South Ossetia.

The fighting was the worst outbreak of hostilities since the province

won de-facto independence in a war that ended in 1992 — raising fears

that war could once again erupt.

A White House spokesman said that President Bush and Russian Prime

Minister Vladimir Putin had discussed the situation in Beijing, where

both are attending the Olympic Games.

Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said a convoy of

Russian tanks had crossed into South Ossetia from the neighboring

Russian province of North Ossetia and was moving toward the regional

capital of Tskhinvali.

Russia's Channel 1 television earlier showed Russian tanks that it

said had entered South Ossetia. The report said the convoy was

expected to reach the provincial capital within a few hours.

Putin has warned that the Georgian attack will draw retaliation and

the Defense Ministry pledged to protect South Ossetians, most of whom

have Russian citizenship.

Georgian forces also shot down two Russian combat planes, according to

Georgia's Interior Ministry spokesman, Shota Utiashvili. He said the

planes were downed while they were raiding Georgian territory, but

wouldn't give their type or any further details.

Russia's Defense Ministry denied an earlier Georgian report about one

Russian plane downed. It had no immediate comment on the latest claim.

Villagers flee fighting

An Associated Press reporter saw tanks and other heavy weapons

concentrating on the Russian side of the border with South Ossetia.

Some villagers were fleeing into Russia.

Video

Russia rolls

Aug. 8: Russian tanks roll into South Ossetia after Georgian officials

say they have shot down two Russian military aircraft. MSNBC's Mika

Brzezinski reports.

MSNBC

" I saw them (the Georgians) shelling my village, " said , who gave

only her first name. She said she and other villagers spent the night

in a field and then fled toward the Russian border as the fighting

escalated.

Separatist officials in South Ossetia said 15 civilians had been

killed in fighting overnight. Georgian officials said seven civilians

were wounded in bombing raids by Russia.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Boris Malakhov called on Tbilisi to

commit itself to peaceful resolution of the conflict.

Yakobashvili said Friday that Georgia was ready to negotiate, but

claimed the South Ossetian officials were dragging their feet in

starting talks.

U.N. session ends in stalemate

At the request of Russia, the U.N. Security Council held an emergency

session in New York but failed to reach consensus early Friday on a

Russian-drafted statement.

The council concluded it was at a stalemate after the United States

Britain and some other members backed the Georgians in rejecting a

phrase in the three-sentence draft statement that would have required

both sides " to renounce the use of force, " council diplomats said.

" We think that this is a very serious error of judgment and political

blunder, " Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said of the council

members' disagreement. " I hope that the Georgian side will reconsider

its reckless actions in the area of the Georgia-South Ossetia conflict. "

Hours after cease-fire

The Georgian attack came just hours after Saakashvili announced a

unilateral cease-fire in a television broadcast late Thursday in which

he also urged South Ossetian separatist leaders to enter talks on

resolving the conflict.

Georgian officials later blamed South Ossetian separatists for

thwarting the cease-fire by shelling Georgian villages in the area.

A spokesman for Bush said Russia and Georgia should cease hostilities

and hold talks to end the conflict. NATO Secretary General Jaap de

Hoop Scheffer said he is seriously concerned about the fighting and

that the alliance is closely following the situation.

Georgia, which borders the Black Sea between Turkey and Russia, was

ruled by Moscow for most of the two centuries preceding the breakup of

the Soviet Union. The country has angered Russia by seeking NATO

membership — a bid Moscow regards as part of a Western effort to

weaken its influence in the region.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili long has pledged to restore

Tbilisi's rule over South Ossetia and another breakaway province,

Abkhazia. Both regions have run their own affairs without

international recognition since splitting from Georgia in the early

1990s and built up ties with Moscow.

Relations between Georgia and Russia worsened notably this year as

Georgia pushed to join NATO and Russia dispatched additional

peacekeeper forces to Abkhazia.

South Ossetia officials said Georgia attacked with aircraft, armor and

heavy artillery. Georgian troops fired missiles at Tskhinvali, an

official said, and many buildings were on fire. The city's main

hospital was among the buildings hit by Georgian shelling, the Russian

news agency Interfax said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it is seeking to

open a humanitarian corridor to guarantee safe access to Tskhinvali.

Maia Kardova, ICRC spokeswoman in Tbilisi, said military vehicles are

being given priority on the main road leading to the South Ossetia

capital and this is making it difficult for rescue vehicles to get

through.

Georgia's President said Russian aircraft bombed several Georgian

villages and other civilian facilities.

" A full-scale aggression has been launched against Georgia, "

Saakashvili said in a televised statement.

He also announced a full military mobilization with reservists being

called into action.

Seven civilians were wounded when three Russian Su-24 jet bombers flew

into Georgia and bombed the town of Gori and the villages of Kareli

and Variani, Deputy Interior Minister Eka Sguladze said at a briefing.

She said that four Russian jets later bombed Gori, the hometown of

Soviet dictator f Stalin, but that raid didn't cause any casualties.

Saakashvili urged Russia to immediately stop bombing Georgian

territory. " Georgia will not yield its territory or renounce its

freedom, " he said.

Russian diplomat dismisses Georgian claims

A senior Russian diplomat in charge of the South Ossetian conflict,

Yuri Popov, dismissed the Georgian claims of Russian bombings as

misinformation, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.

Russia's Defense Ministry denounced the Georgian attack as a " dirty

adventure. " " Blood shed in South Ossetia will weigh on their

conscience, " the ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site.

" We will protect our peacekeepers and Russian citizens, " it said

without elaboration.

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev later chaired a session of his

Security Council in the Kremlin, vowing that Moscow will protect

Russian citizens.

" In accordance with the constitution and federal law, I, as president

of Russia, am obliged to protect lives and dignity of Russian citizens

wherever they are located, " Medvedev said, according to Russian news

reports. " We won't allow the death of our compatriots go unpunished. "