Georgian capital under threat as Russians advance
Russia and Georgia accuse each other of launching fresh attacks over South Ossetia
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Georgia has told Russia it is ready to "immediately start negotiations" on a ceasefire and end the current fighting in South Ossetia, reports claim. |  |
Monday, 11, Aug 2008 12:00
Georgian forces have been withdrawn to defend their capital, Tbilisi, as Russian forces moved out of the disputed province of South Ossetia.
According to Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili the Georgian city of Gori has been captured by Russian forces, leaving the small Black Sea state split in two.
It appears ongoing Georgian shelling of South Ossetia has prompted the advance beyond the breakaway province, whose fate triggered the current conflict.
Russia has ignored pleas by the G7 group of nations to cease its advances and Georgia has been forced to withdraw to defend Tbilisi from attacks.
National security council secretary Alexander Lomaia told the AFP news agency: "Georgian armed forces received an order to leave Gori and to fortify positions near Mtskheta to defend the capital. This is total onslaught."
An attempt to achieve a diplomatic solution to the current crisis by French and Finnish officials appears to have met with little progress.
Earlier today Mr Saakashvili described Russian military action in the breakaway region of South Ossetia as "cold-blooded murder".
Speaking at a news conference this afternoon, Mr Saakashvili said Russia's action equated to the "pre-planned, cold-blooded murder of a country", stating that Moscow's goal was to establish regime change in Georgia.
He claimed that Georgian troops had called for a ceasefire and were simply defending their positions while preventing advancing Russian troops during clashes today.
Earlier, Georgia's interior ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said Russian planes had bombed a military base and an air traffic control centre in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Monday.
He added that a "massive" aerial bombardment of Gori had taken place with more than 50 Russian jets carrying out bombing raids.
In response, the Russian Interfax news agency reported that Georgian forces have been shelling the capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali.
During his press conference, Mr Saakashvili accused the Russians of "ethnic cleansing", saying that they were witnessing a destruction of the world order established after the cold war.
He added: "The consequences for world security, human rights and energy security are tremendous and huge."
He confirmed that Russian troops were in control of Tskhinvali, but said Georgia had "no plan for surrender".
Mr Saakashvili accused the Russians of "point-blank executions" and said Gori had been emptied of most of its residents after civilian areas were targeted.
The Georgian president said Moscow's 'invasion' had been deliberately planned to coincide with the Olympic Games.
He also confirmed that he had signed a draft proposal for a ceasefire today.
US president George Bush told NBC TV last night that he had met with Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing and discussed the crisis.
"I said this violence is unacceptable. I was very firm with Vladimir Putin. Hopefully this will get resolved peacefully," he said.
A spokeswoman for Nato secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer added that he was also "seriously concerned" by the situation.
The European Commission is reported to be providing €1 million (£783,000) in humanitarian aid for civilians caught up in the South Ossetia clashes.
French and EU president Nicolas Sarkozy is due to arrive in Georgia on Tuesday before heading to Moscow.