TSKHINVAL. Georgian troops are shelling the northern part of Tskhinval and
the Zar Road, the only link between Tskhinval and Russia, which refugees are
using to flee the besieged city.
Over the past few days, 1,264 South Ossetians, including 852 children, have arrived
in North Ossetia from South Ossetia.
South Ossetia still refrains from returning fire for lack of a relevant order, the
officer on duty in the republican Interior Ministry told RIA Novosti.
The law-enforcement agencies are evacuating the people from the road.
The shelling of Tskhinval began at night on August 7. Walls and windowpanes
are shaking in the centre of the city. Judging by the sound of the explosions,
Georgians are firing large-calibre shells.
According to the officer on duty in the South Ossetian Defence and Emergencies
Ministry, the city is being attacked from all sides.
“The centre of the city has been under fire for 25 minutes. Artillery guns and
mine launchers are firing at it from the Georgian villages of Nikozi and Ergneti.
Several houses are burning,” the officer said.
He also said Georgians used the Grad multiple-launch rocket systems against
the village of Tsunar.
The situation in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone rapidly deteriorated
after the shelling of residential blocks in Tskhinval and several South Ossetian
villages on the night of August 1 and early hours of August 2, when six
South Ossetians were killed and 15 wounded.
The peacekeepers said the shooting had been provoked by Georgia, although
Tbilisi claims it only returned fire.
South Ossetians are not returning fire. Explosions are heard in the centre of the
city, and several houses are on fire in some of its districts. People stay in their homes, many are hiding in the basements.
TSKHINVAL. South Ossetia started to return fire, the officer on duty in the
South Ossetian Defence and Emergencies Ministry told RIA Novosti.“The situation is really bad,” he said.
According to the RIA Novosti correspondent, the shelling of Tskhinval has not
stopped or become less intensive. He can hear shooting from infantry combat
vehicles and large-calibre machineguns. Artillery and the Grad multiplelaunch
rocket systems are also being used against Tskhinval.
VLADIKAVKAZ. The people of South Ossetia have appealed to the international
community and Russian authorities to take measures to protect them
from the Georgian attack, said Maya Kharebova, press secretary of the South
Ossetian State Committee for Information and the Press.
“The people of South Ossetia have appealed to Russian authorities and the international
community to do something to protect them, because Georgia is set
to exterminate the Ossetian people,” she said.
According to Kharebova, Georgia began the storming of Tskhinval at 11:30 pm yesterday.
MOSCOW. Georgian shooting has demolished the village of Khetagurovo in
South Ossetia and did great damage to the village of Dmenis, said Yuri Morozov,
a representative of the South Ossetian government.
“Information about the exact number of casualties there is not available because
the communication lines are broken,” he said.
Morozov said about the situation in Tskhinval that the shelling of the city began
around 10:00 p.m. the day before. People are hiding in the basements.
Government buildings are on fire. The number of casualties is not clear.“I think the situation in the city will become clearer in the morning,” he said.
MOSCOW. Georgians are shelling the South Ossetian capital without respite
from large-calibre guns and the Grad multiple-launch rocket systems, Zhanna
Kazayeva, a member of the self-proclaimed republic’s presidential administration,
said to RIA Novosti in a telephone conversation.
“There is a total blackout and no communication with the regions. Judging by
the intensity of shelling, many houses have been destroyed,” she said.
According to Kazayeva, “when the shelling began but we still had communication
[with the regions], we learned about casualties in the villages of
Khetagurovo and Dmenis.”
“The residents of nearby houses are hiding in the basements. When communication
is restored in the morning – we hope – we will know the approximate
number of victims of the Georgian attack,” she said.
Georgia prevents ambulances from picking up wounded in Tskhinval
TSKHINVAL-MOSCOW. Georgian troops prevent ambulances from getting
to the South Ossetian police stations to pick up the wounded. They are shelling
the central hospital in Tskhinval, said Irina Gagloyeva, chair of the South
Ossetian Committee for Information and the Press.
“The shelling continues. Georgian troops prevent ambulances from reaching
the South Ossetian police stations to collect the wounded. There could be dead
there,” she said.
The central hospital in Tskhinval is being shelled, the South Ossetian Committee
for Information and the Press says on its web site.
“The medics are working in a basement. It is impossible to deliver the wounded
to the hospital because of intensive shelling,” it said.
According to Gagloyeva, artillery guns deployed in the village of Nikozi and
the town of Gori in Georgia are shelling Tskhinval. She said Khetagurov Street
had been fully destroyed and a shell had hit the building of the Khurzarin
newspaper editorial office in the northern part of the city.
Gagloyeva said Georgians say they started shelling Tskhinval “to restore the
constitutional order”.
TSKHINVAL. The shelling of Tskhinval has resumed in the morning of August
8 with new intensity. Shells are exploding in the city and one can hear
submachine-gun fire. Planes have appeared over Tskhinval, the RIA Novosti
correspondent reports.
Georgia, which shelled Tskhinval last night, claims it had to violate the earlierannounced
unilateral moratorium and to return fire after repeated shooting at
Georgian villages by South Ossetian troops.
According to preliminary data, about 15 civilians have been killed in the shelling
of Tskhinval, the South Ossetian Committee for Information and the Press
reports.
Russia has proposed that the UN Security Council meet to discuss the situation.
TBILISI. By the morning of August 8, Georgian troops have assumed control
over eight villages near Tskhinval, capital of South Ossetia, the Georgian
Rustavi-2 channel reports.
Fighting has been reported in the suburbs, the News of Georgia agency says
citing the channel.
Tskhinval was shelled throughout the night, including from the Grad multiple-
launch rocket systems designed to destroy enemy personnel and vehicleson large areas and to ruin fortifications.
MOSCOW. The Georgian Su-25 aircraft are bombing the village of Kvernet
and a humanitarian convoy. Heavy weaponry is being used in fighting in
Tskhinval and its suburbs, the South Ossetian Committee for Information and
the Press reports.
“The Georgian Su-25 planes are dropping bombs on innocent civilians in
South Ossetia, the village of Kvernet and a convoy bringing humanitarian aid
to Tskhinval along the Zar Road. According to preliminary information, over
15 civilians have been killed in the city,” the Committee said. “A convoy of
Georgian tanks and troops are moving towards Tskhinval.”
A considerable part of the city has been destroyed. Houses are burning. The
parliament of the self-proclaimed republic has burned down and government
buildings have been damaged. Residential blocks and other buildings in thecentre of the city are burning, the Committee said.
TBILISI. Georgian Prime Minister Vladimir Gurgenidze has called on Georgians
to remain calm despite the current events in Tskhinval, the News of Gergia
agency reports.
“This is an ordinary working day. We will work as usual. The main thing in
this situation is to stay calm,” Gurgenidze said. “The aim of our actions in the
conflict zone is to restore peace in the region, and we will not stop until we attain
it.”
MOSCOW. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev receives information from
the hostilities zone in South Ossetia in real time, journalists were told in the
Kremlin’s press service.
“Dmitry Medvedev is chairing discussions of emergency measures to restore
peace in South Ossetia, use the peacekeeping mandate to protect civilians, Russiancitizens and Russia’s national interests,” the press service said.
MOSCOW. The UN Security Council has held an emergency meeting at Russia’s
initiative to express concern over the deterioration of the situation in South
Ossetia. However, it did not support Russia’s statement calling on the warring
sides to cease fire, France Presse reports.
Karen Pierce, deputy to the UK ambassador to the UN, expressed regret at the
inability to take a decision on the issue, and said she hoped this would become
possible in the next few days. The absence of a decision does not mean that the
Security Council is not working on this issue, she said.
After a two-hour meeting, the Security Council members still could not agree
on the Russian appeal.
Jan Grauls from Belgium, which chaired the Security Council in August, said
he was seriously concerned over the escalation of the conflict and called for
resuming talks without delay. However, at this moment the Security Council
cannot take a decision on this issue, he said.
Russian ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin said the biggest obstacle to taking
a decision was “the unwillingness of some Council members to adopt a
document that calls for a ceasefire in the conflict zone.”
Churkin also said that in the past few days he had repeatedly warned the Security
Council of the deployment of Georgian troops in South Ossetia and denounced
Georgia’s refusal to stop the hostilities in order to settle its conflictwith South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
TBILISI. Georgian troops have occupied some districts of Tskhinval and control
11 nearby villages, the Georgian Rustavi-2 channel reports.
According to it, there are approximately 600 Georgian servicemen in Tskhinval.
Georgian troops have taken the villages of Groni, Atsevi, Tsinagara, Znauri,
Sarabuki, Khetagurovo, Atotsi, Kaemo Okuna, Dmenisi, Bubuki, and Didmukha.
Georgian troops control all commanding heights around Tskhinval, Rustavi-2
claims. Other sources have not confirmed or denied this information, the News
of Georgia agency reports.
Some Georgian media have already reported that Tskhinval has fallen.
MOSCOW. Temur Iakobashvili, the Georgian Minister for Reintegration, said
the Georgian authorities controlled all settlements in South Ossetia with the
exception of Dzhava. He said fighting still continued in Tskhinval.
“This is why I say, resistance is useless. It will only result in more victims and
destruction. I think at this stage the Russian Federation should interfere as a
peacekeeper, and Russia can do this,” he said during the Moscow-Tbilisi video
linkup organised by RIA Novosti.
Georgian aircraft are not bombing South Ossetian capital –
Georgian Minister
TBILISI. The Georgian Air Force is not bombing Tskhinval, capital of the selfproclaimed
Republic of South Ossetia, Temur Iakobashvili, the Georgian Minister
for Reintegration, said.
“We are not bombing Tskhinval. There is street fighting in the city, in which
our troops are involved. We are not going to bomb our own troops,” he saidduring the Moscow-Tbilisi linkup organised by RIA Novosti.
BEIJING. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the CIS countries should
do something to force Georgia to stop the hostilities. “We would like the CIS to provide a clear assessment of the actions [of the
Georgian authorities regarding South Ossetia] and act to stop them,” Putin
said at a meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
TSKHINVAL. Tskhinval residents have appealed to the Russian authorities
for help, South Ossetia’s Committee for Information and the Press reports. “We all have Russian passports. This is our land, this is where each of us was
born and grew up. The Georgian aggressors are killing us,” the appeal published
on the Committee’s site says.
Georgia started hostilities in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone late at night
on August 7 and in the small hours of August 8. The South Ossetian authorities
report attacks by aircraft, tanks and troops, and first civilian casualties.
Those who have remained in Tskhinval are hiding in basements.
“Help us, if it is still possible. There may be minutes left before we are killed.
The city is being razed, homes are burning, and people have nowhere to hide
from the enemy fire,” the report says.
MOSCOW. The police have tightened security around the Georgian embassy
in Moscow, Viktor Biryukov, head of the Information Department at the Moscow
branch of the Interior Ministry, told RIA Novosti.
“In view of the events in Tskhinval, the Moscow police has placed additional
posts, including OMON special task police, at the Georgian embassy in downtown
Moscow,” he said.
According to Biryukov, no incidents have been reported at the embassy.
Emergencies Ministry ready to evacuate Russian citizens from
South Ossetia
MOSCOW. Russia’s Emergencies Ministry is ready to start evacuating Russian
citizens from the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone as soon as a political
decision is taken, RIA Novosti learned in the Ministry.
“In accordance with existing legislation, the Emergencies Ministry and the
Foreign Ministry, supported by a dozen other departments, are responsible for
the evacuation of Russian citizens staying abroad. The Emergencies Ministry
is to provide transport. However, we have so far not received relevant instructions,”
the source said.
He recalled that Russian citizens could be evacuated from South Ossetia only
by the single road linking the republic with North Ossetia in Russia. He did
not specify who would ensure the refugees’ safety.
MOSCOW. Intensive fighting continues in the centre of Tskhinval and the city
is being shelled, Gen. Marat Kulakhmetov, commander of the Joint Peacekeeping
Forces in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone, told RIA Novosti by
telephone.
Georgian troops invaded the self-proclaimed republic of South Ossetia last
night, shelling its capital city, Tskhinval, including from the Grad multiplelaunch
rocket systems. A considerable part of Tskhinval has been ruined.
“Fighting is underway in the city’s centre. Georgians are shelling it,” Kulakhmetov
said, adding that dozens of civilians had been killed or wounded. “There are also losses among peacekeepers,” he said, but did not provide the
MOSCOW. Georgian troops have not fully occupied the capital of South Ossetia.
Tskhinval is fighting back, the South Ossetian Committee for Information
and the Press said on its web site.
“The intensive shelling of Tskhinval is going on. The attack is overpowering.
Civilians are hiding in their homes, but many of them cannot do this because
their homes have been destroyed. There are still many children, women and
old people in the city. According to the latest information, Georgian troops
have not occupied the city, which is fighting back,” the information reads.
South Ossetian authorities said: “The Georgian armed units want to exterminate
Ossetians and are doing their best to raze South Ossetian cities and villages
to the ground.”
“The people of South Ossetia have again placed their hope with Russia and
are asking it to help protect them from Georgian fascism and extermination.
Innocent citizens of South Ossetia, citizens of Russia are being killed in their
homes. It is impossible to establish the true number of the dead,” the statement
reads.
TSKHINVAL. Peacekeepers have confirmed that Georgians are aiming fire at
their deployment site in Tskhinval.
“The command of the Russian peacekeepers has definitely confirmed that fire
is aimed at the deployment site of peacekeepers in Tskhinval,” the command’s
spokesman told journalists.
“This is being witnessed by many Russian journalists at the peacekeepers’ deployment
site,” he added.
According to the command, Tbilisi will not stop at anything to mislead the
international community. The Georgian Interior Ministry previously claimed
that Georgian troops had not attacked Russian peacekeepers. Deputy Minister
Yekaterina Zguladze said the reports about attacks against the peacekeepers
were “dangerous” and that she refutes them categorically.
“We are doing our best to protect their safety,” she said.
MOSCOW. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has called on the
authorities of Georgia and South Ossetia to cease hostilities and start peace
talks.
“The NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, is seriously concerned
about the events that are taking place in the Georgian region of South Ossetia
and said that the Alliance is closely following the situation. The Secretary
General calls on all sides for an immediate end of the armed clashes and direct
talks between the parties,” Reuters said quoting de Hoop Scheffer’s statement.
Russia will protect Russian peacekeepers and Russian citizens
in South Ossetia
MOSCOW. Russia will protect Russian peacekeepers and Russian citizens in
South Ossetia, the Defence Ministry said in a press release.
“The Georgian leadership has unleashed a dirty war. The blame for the blood
spilled in South Ossetia will rest squarely on them and their supporters. We
will protect our peacekeepers and Russian citizens,” says the document published
on the Ministry’s web site.
Georgian troops invaded the self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia the
night before, shelling its capital, Tskhinval, including from the Grad multiplelaunch
rocket systems. A major part of the city has been destroyed. South Ossetian
authorities report casualties among civilians.
The peacekeepers’ command reported that fire was aimed at their deployment
sites, directly hitting the barracks and killing and wounding peacekeepers. Theprecise number of casualties among Russian troops has not been reported.
Red Cross calls for humanitarian corridor for South Ossetian
refugees
MOSCOW. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has urged
the combatants to open a humanitarian corridor to render emergency aid and
evacuate the wounded and besieged civilians from the territory of South Ossetia,
AP reports.
Red Cross spokesperson, Anna Nelson, says they have been maintaining contact
with both sides in the conflict, trying to ensure their staff safe access to theconflict zone.
Saakashvili must be called to account for shelling peaceful villages – Medoyev
MOSCOW. Saakashvili and his retinue must be called to account for crimes
against humanity, Dmitry Medoyev, South Ossetia’s plenipotentiary representative
in Russia, said.
“Europe has charged [ex-leader of Bosnian Serbs] Radovan Karadzic for ordering
attacks against peaceful cities. Saakashvili is doing the same, ordering
for peaceful cities and villages to be bombed and shelled,” Medoyev said at a news conference in Moscow.
Georgian snipers are preventing medics from helping
wounded– Medoyev
MOSCOW. Georgian snipers are preventing ambulances from helping the
wounded in South Ossetia, from saving the people, Dmitry Medoyev, South
Ossetia’s plenipotentiary representative in Russia, told journalists in Moscow.
He said he had no information about the exact number of the dead and wounded
during the Georgian aggression.
“Shelling continues at the houses that lie in ruins, with people buried under
them. This does not allow us to determine the number of casualties. However,
judging by the intensity of fire, there could be many casualties,” Medoyev
said.
He said the Georgian snipers were preventing ambulances from helping the
wounded, so as to conceal the number of casualties.
“This cannot be described as a counterterrorism operation to restore the constitutional
order,” Medoyev said when commenting on the Georgian authorities’
statements about the restoration of the “constitutional order” in the selfproclaimedrepublic.
BEIJING. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told US President George W.
Bush it would be very difficult to stop numerous volunteers in Russia from going
to South Ossetia.
He met with the US president in Beijing.“Vladimir Putin said that a war was underway in South Ossetia, while George
Bush replied that nobody wanted a war,” Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s press secretary,
told journalists.
According to him, while Putin and Bush were talking, the UN Security Council
was in meeting to discuss the problem, but the US president was not aware of
that. This is why he said the problem should be brought to the attention of the
UN Security Council, Peskov said.
“The Prime Minister also said numerous volunteers in Russia and other countries
were ready to go [to South Ossetia] and that it would be very difficult to
stop them,” Peskov said.
Putin said the Olympics were a symbol of peace, but regretfully, not everyoneunderstood this, the press secretary said.
Russia remains the guarantor of security in the Caucasus – Medvedev
MOSCOW. Russia has been and remains the guarantor of security in the Caucasus,
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said at the emergency meeting of
the Russian Security Council.
The Georgian troops invaded the self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia
last night, shelling its capital, Tskhinval, also from the Grad multiple-launch
rocket systems. Much of the city is lying in ruins. South Ossetian authorities
report numerous casualties among civilians.
“Russia has been present in the territory of Georgia on legitimate grounds,
fulfilling a peacekeeping mission in accordance with the existing international
agreements. We see the preservation of peace as our main goal,” Medvedev
said. “Historically, Russia has always been the guarantor of security in theCaucasus.”
ROSTOV-ON-DON, VLADIKAVKAZ. A convoy of Russian armoured vehicles
has entered Tskhinval, RIA Novosti learned from a source in the headquarters
of the North Caucasus Military District.
“A convoy of Russian vehicles from the North Caucasus Military District has
entered the northern suburb of the South Ossetian capital,” the source said.
He did not specify how many vehicles were in the convoy.
Earlier, witnesses told RIA Novosti that over a hundred vehicles, including
tanks, self-propelled guns and APCs, passed through the Roki Tunnel.
MOSCOW. The Russian Defence Ministry has confirmed that reinforcement
had been sent to the peacekeepers in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone. “Requisite assistance will be provided to the Russian peacekeepers, Russian
citizens in South Ossetia, and citizens of the self-proclaimed republic. We will
not remain inactive when our compatriots and peacekeepers are dying.
Reinforcement
has been dispatched to the peacekeepers in the region, which will
help to stop the bloodshed,” says the release of the Defence Ministry’s press
service published on August 8.
MOSCOW. Alexy II, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, has appealed to
Georgia and South Ossetia, whose population is mostly Orthodox Christian,
to prevent the continued bloodshed and resume talks. He also said the Russian
Orthodox Church was ready to help restore peace.
“Having learned about fighting in Tskhinval and around it, I am appealing to
the warring sides to cease fire and return to the path of dialogue,” reads the
Patriarch’s statement supplied to RIA Novosti.
“I am appealing to those who have been blinded by hatred: Stop now! Do
not allow more blood to be spilled, do not allow the conflict to grow. Show
wisdom and courage, sit down at the negotiating table and hold talks in the
spirit of respect for the traditions, views and aspirations of Georgians and Ossetians,”
Alexy writes.
He writes that he deeply regrets the death of people in South Ossetia, adding
that there are Orthodox Christians among those who have risen against each
other.
“Moreover, two Orthodox Christian peoples, whom God commanded to live
in friendship and love, have risen against each other,” he writes. “I know that Ilia II, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, has called for
peace. The Russian Orthodox Church is ready to join efforts with the Georgian
Church to facilitate the restoration of peace. God, who “is not a God of
confusion but of peace” (1 Co 14:33), will help us in this undertaking,” Alexy
II writes in conclusion.
BRUSSELS. The European Union intends to encourage the resumption of direct
talks between the sides in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict, spokesman
John Clancy said.
He said on August 8 to journalists in Brussels that the EU would find a diplomatic
method to facilitate the talks, adding that in connection with the events
in the conflict zone Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European Commissioner for
External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, was maintaining
contact with France, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, and thecurrent chair of the OSCE.
MOSCOW. The statements made by Georgian authorities expose the incompetence
of Georgia as a member of the international community, Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov said when commenting on the events in South Ossetia. “It is a sad fact that the Georgian President speaks on television about his readiness
to continue what he has started. And he is broadcast against the backdrop
of the Georgian and the EU flags,” Lavrov told journalists.
The minister said that the actions taken by Georgian authorities against South
Ossetian people “expose the incompetence of Georgia as a member of the international
community.”
Lavrov said the events in South Ossetia explained why Georgia did not want
to sign an agreement on the non-use of force with South Ossetia.
“President Saakashvili said before the beginning of hostilities in South Ossetia
that demanding that he should sign such a document was nonsense, because
Georgia would not use force against its own people. Now we see that it does,”
Lavrov said.
He expressed hope that Georgia’s partners in the West would draw correct
conclusions from these events.
According to him, the situation in South Ossetia was deteriorating by the
hour.
“Georgia is using heavy artillery and other heavy weaponry, directing intensive
fire at residential blocks in Tskhinval and other cities and villages. In effect,
this is an aggression against the Ossetian people,” Lavrov said.
Commenting on the recent Georgian words that Russia should act as a peacekeeper, Lavrov said: “This is exactly what we are doing now.”
VLADIKAVKAZ. Units of the Russian Defence Ministry’s 58th Army are approaching
Tskhinval to help the peacekeepers in the Georgian-South Ossetian
conflict zone, Col. Igor Konashenkov, an aide to the Commander-in-Chief of
the Russian Army, told RIA Novosti.
“Units of the 58th Army have been dispatched to help the peacekeepers in the
Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone, and are approaching Tskhinval,” Konashenkov
said.
Georgians executing peacekeepers and civilians – Russian
Defence Ministry
VLADIKAVKAZ. Georgians are executing the Russian peacekeepers at their
observation posts, Col. Igor Konashenkov, an aide to the commander-in-chief
of the Russian Army, said.
“Georgians are executing Russian peacekeepers and civilians taken prisoner
at the observation posts. Intensive fighting is under way near Tskhinval; Georgian
tanks are shooting point-blank at the peacekeepers’ headquarters and
camp,” he said.
The colonel said Georgians prevent medics from removing the wounded from
the zone of hostilities in Tskhinval. About a dozen peacekeepers are dead and30 have been wounded.
Control headquarters set up in Vladikavkaz – Russian Defence
Ministry
VLADIKAVKAZ. Control headquarters have been set up in Vladikavkaz to
help Russian peacekeepers and citizens in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict
zone, Col. Igor Konashenkov, an aide to the commander-in-chief of the
Russian Army, said.
“Units of the 58th Army have been dispatched to help the peacekeepers in
the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone, and are approaching Tskhinval,”
he said.
VLADIKAVKAZ. It is reported that Georgian troops are killing wounded Russian
peacekeepers and local citizens at the occupied observation posts, Col. Igor
Konashenkov, an aide to the commander-in-chief of the Russian Army, said. “Russian peacekeepers are fighting back despite intensive Georgian fire,” he
said, adding that fighting was fierce in Tskhinval, with Georgian tanks shooting
point-blank at Russian peacekeepers’ posts, and Georgian assault planes
delivering missile and bombing strikes at the peacekeepers’ base.Konashenkov said about a dozen peacekeepers were dead and 30 wounded.
MOSCOW. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has told the US CNN
channel that Russia had launched a war against his country, Reuters reports.
He also said it was in the United States’ interest to help Georgia. “It’s not about
Georgia anymore. It’s about America, its values: we are a freedom-loving nation that is right now under attack.”
VLADIKAVKAZ. The legislatures of the Krasnodar and Stavropol territories
in southern Russia and the Republic of Adygea are prepared to help the people
of South Ossetia, say telegrams addressed to Larisa Khabitsova, speaker of
the North Ossetian parliament, RIA Novosti learned in the parliament’s Information
Centre.
“Today the legislatures of the Krasnodar and Stavropol territories in southern
Russia and the Republic of Adygea have approved statements to denounce the
Georgian military aggression against South Ossetia. Telegrams addressed to
the speaker say the people are ready to provide all-round assistance to the people
of South Ossetia in their just struggle for independence,” the spokesperson
in the Information Centre said.
For over 16 hours the Georgian troops have been fighting, with minor respites,
to conquer the self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia and its capital,
Tskhinval. They are using aircraft, tanks, the Grad multiple-launch rocket systems,
and troops, South Ossetian authorities report.
They also report numerous civilian casualties. The number of the dead and
wounded cannot be calculated because of continued fire. There are also casualties
among the peacekeepers.
The majority of South Ossetians have Russian citizenship.
MOSCOW. President Dmitry Medvedev has issued instructions to organise
humanitarian aid to the victims of the regional conflict in South Ossetia, the
Kremlin press service reports.
“The Russian President has instructed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Emergencies
Minister Sergei Shoigu and Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev to organise
the collection of humanitarian aid to the victims of the escalation of the
Georgian-South Ossetian conflict by allocating requisite financial and technical
resources,” the press service reports.
Lavrov incensed that Russian citizens suffer from Georgian
aggression
MOSCOW. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was indignant
that Russian citizens were suffering from the Georgian aggression against
South Ossetia.
“We are indignant that Russian citizens are suffering, including the Russian
peacekeepers who have put their lives at risk to maintain a semblance of
peace in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone all these past years,” the
minister said.
Lavrov said that Georgian servicemen in the Joint Peacekeeping Forces opened
fire at their Russian colleagues, which speaks volumes.
The Russian Defence Ministry has reported that Georgian tanks fired point-blank
at the peacekeepers’ headquarters and camp. About a dozen Russian peacekeepers
have been killed and 30 wounded. Georgian troops are executing Russian
peacekeepers and civilians at the observation points they have occupied, and are preventing medics from removing the wounded from the zone of hostilities.
SUKHUMI. Sergei Bagapsh, President of the self-proclaimed Republic of
Abkhazia, will chair a visiting meeting of the Abkhazian Security Council in
Ochamchira today, to discuss the hostilities in South Ossetia, a source in the
presidential staff told RIA Novosti.
It will be a second meeting of the republican Security Council today.
On Thursday, August 7, Abkhazia put its troops on combat alert in view of the
aggravation of tensions in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone. President
Sergei Bagapsh said the emergency meeting of the republican governmentdecided to dispatch 1,000 volunteers to South Ossetia.
MOSCOW. Only the recognition of South Ossetia’s independence by Russia
and the international community will stop the Georgian aggression against the
self-proclaimed republic, said Valery Kabolov, board chairman of the Moscow
Ossetian Community Council.
“Russia alone can prevent the aggression by recognising the independence of
South Ossetia, and the international community can do it by recognising that
South Ossetia is a sovereign state,” he told journalists in Moscow.
“South Ossetia has always been at one with North Ossetia, so Georgia has declared
war not just on South Ossetia but on the whole of Ossetia,” Kabolov said
at a demonstration held by the Ossetian Diaspora in front of the Foreign Ministry
in Smolenskaya Square in Moscow.
He said hostilities would end very soon if South Ossetia is recognised as an independent
state.
“In this event, the war will end very quickly. Otherwise, it will be a long and
more bloody and merciless than the one waged in the 1990s,” he said.
Kabolov said: “This is a third genocide against the Ossetian people. The first
was in the 1920s, the second in the 1990s, and they are planning the third
genocide now.”
Moscow Ossetians ready to take in refugees from South
Ossetia
MOSCOW. Moscow Ossetians are ready to take in refugees from South Ossetia,
Irina Dambegova, a member of the Moscow Ossetian Сommunity Council,
told RIA Novosti.
“We are prepared to shelter refugees – the wounded and children. There may
be children visiting relatives in South Ossetia during the summer holidays
among them. Each Ossetian family is ready to welcome the victims,” she said.
Dambegova said the Ossetian community in Moscow was collecting humanitarian
aid (medicines and clothes). The community centre has been full since
Thursday night, with people trying to get information about their relatives and
to call them.
“We are all together now, feeling our involvement,” she said.
The community centre is working round the clock these days. “We must be
here because our assistance could be required at any moment,” Dambegova
said.
On Friday evening, Valery Kabolov, board chairman of the Moscow Ossetian
Community Council, will meet with representatives of Georgian public organisations, where he intends to ask Georgian intellectuals to appeal to the Georgian
president to stop the massacre.
There are over 30,000 Ossetians permanently living in Moscow.
International community urges peaceful settlement of Georgian-South
Ossetian conflict
MOSCOW – ANKARA – WARSAW. People from different countries have expressed
their concern over the escalation of the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict
and appealed to the sides to resume talks on a peaceful settlement.
FRANCE
France, the current president of the EU, has called for an immediate termination
of hostilities in South Ossetia and the resumption of talks, the French Foreign
Ministry said in a statement published by the French embassy in Moscow. “France is appealing to all sides to immediately stop hostilities and resume
talks, which alone can lead the way out of this crisis,” the document reads.
TURKEY
Turkey has called on the sides in the conflict in South Ossetia to stop military
confrontation and start direct talks on a peaceful settlement. “Our country is in favour of a peaceful settlement of problems with neighbouring
Georgia, with which we have friendly relations,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry
said in a statement published in Ankara on Friday. “The confrontation, which is threatening regional peace and stability, must be
settled in a reasonable manner based on common sense and dialogue, so as to
prevent new tensions,” the statement runs. “Turkey is appealing to the sides
[in the conflict] to renounce the use of force, including military force, and to
start direct talks.”
POLAND
Polish President Lech Kaczynski is concerned about the developments in Georgia
and thinks conflicts must be settled peacefully, the official statement of the
head of state delivered to the RIA Novosti bureau in Warsaw says.
President Kaczynski stresses that “conflicts must always be settled peacefully.”
The National Security Bureau is monitoring the situation in the conflict zonein South Ossetia.
MOSCOW. According to preliminary data, over 1,000 civilians have died in
Tskhinval as a result of the Georgian aggression, Teimuraz Kasayev, North Ossetia’s
Minister for Nationalities, told RIA Novosti by telephone.
“According to our information, there were many casualties after the night
shelling of Tskhinval. We were told in the South Ossetia’s Committee for Information
and the Press that the number of casualties exceeds 1,000, according topreliminary data,” Kasayev said.
Russia appeals to OSCE to denounce Georgian attack against South
Ossetia
VIENNA. Russia has appealed to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) to denounce Georgia’s attack against South Ossetia and
to demand that it end hostilities, Vladimir Voronkov, acting Russian representative
at the OSCE, said at an emergency meeting of the OSCE’s Permanent
Council.
“In this situation, the Russian Federation is urging the current presidency and
the Permanent Council to approve a decision to denounce the Georgian armed
attack against South Ossetia and to demand that it immediately terminate hostilities,
withdraw all its troops and heavy weaponry from the conflict zone,
and resume talks within the approved format of the Joint Control Commission,”
Voronkov said.
Youth organisations hold demonstrations in support
of South Ossetia
MOSCOW. About 40 people gathered at the Russian Defence Ministry for an
approved demonstration in support of South Ossetia.
“We have gathered here to support the [Russian] Defence Ministry,” Valery
Korovin, the leader of the Eurasian Youth Union, which organised the demonstration,
said.
He said they hailed the Ministry’s decision to support Russian peacekeepers
in South Ossetia.
The demonstration was also attended by representatives of the Young Russia
and Nashi movements. The demonstrators held flags of their movements and
slogans saying, “Russia, save Ossetia,” “Send the Russian Army to Ossetia,”
and “Defend Tskhinval”. They also chanted: “Tanks against Tbilisi”.
The participants in the demonstration said the Russian Army should play the
decisive role in settling the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict.
A representative of the Ossetian Diaspora, who attended the demonstration,
thanked the young people for their support.
Volgograd Region to shelter 220 women and children from
South Ossetia
VOLGOGRAD. The Volgograd Region (on the Volga) will take in 220 women
and children saved from the conflict zone in South Ossetia, the press service of
the regional administration said quoting Governor Nikolai Maksyuta. “The people of Volgograd, the oldest of whom know from their own experience
what war is and the pain it brings, have expressed readiness to help. We
will provide all-round assistance to women and children in this difficult situation,”
the governor said.
The refugees are to be placed in the Zelyonaya Volna summer camp. The dates
of their arrival will be coordinated soon.
Evacuation of people from the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone began
soon after Georgian troops opened heavy mortar and sniper fire at the residential
blocks in Tskhinval, the capital of the self-proclaimed Republic of South
Ossetia, late at night on August 1 and in the small hours on August 2.
Destruction in the city is considerable, and South Ossetian authorities report
large numbers of civilian casualties.
In the past few days, 1,625 people, including 1,012 children, have arrived from
the self-proclaimed republic to North Ossetia. The Rostov Region and Kabardino-
Balkaria will each give shelter to 200 people.
MOSCOW. The Pentagon is watching developments in Georgia, Pentagon
spokesman Bryan Whitman told Reuters. He said they had contacts with Georgianauthorities, who had so far not asked for US assistance.
MOSCOW. On Saturday August 9, Russia will stop all air flights to Georgia,
a spokesman of the Transport Ministry told RIA Novosti.
“Starting with 00:00 a.m. Moscow time on August 9 the Russian Federation
stops all air flights to the Republic of Georgia,” the Transport Ministry representative
said.
Russian air carriers that have regular flights to Georgia are Aeroflot and S7
(former Sibir Airlines). There is no railway communication between Russiaand Georgia.
Georgian troops are retreating – South Ossetian Committee for Information
and the Press
MOSCOW. The tide is turning in the battle for Tskhinval, the capital of South
Ossetia, the republic’s Committee for Information and the Press has reported
citing witnesses.
“Georgian troops are retreating. Ossetian volunteers are destroying Georgian
tanks from grenade launchers. Witnesses say tanks are burning all over the
city,” the Committee’s report runs.
The Committee reports that destruction in Tskhinval has reached a catastrophic
stage. Civilians are hiding in basements and the few remaining houses.
Whole streets have been destroyed, including the republican hospital where
the wounded were operated on right in the corridors. The university building
is on fire, the Committee says.
Russia’s Emergencies Ministry sends mobile hospital to help refugees
MOSCOW. Russia’s Emergencies Ministry will airlift a mobile hospital to
North Ossetia to help refugees from South Ossetia, where hostilities erupted
last night.
“At 10:00 p.m. on Friday, an Il-76 transport plane of the Emergencies Ministry
will take off from the Ramenskoye Airfield near Moscow carrying a mobile
hospital, medics, psychologists and a task group from the ministry numbering
60 people,” Irina Andrianova, press secretary of the ministry, told RIA
Novosti.
She said the hospital would be deployed in the Alagiri district of North Ossetia.
The task group will be led by Alexander Chuprian, deputy emergencies
minister.
“The work of an interdepartmental group in North Ossetia will be coordinated
by the Emergencies Ministry,” Andrianova said. “The group will be in charge
of temporary accommodation for refugees from South Ossetia. It will consist of
representatives from the Regional Development Ministry, the Transport Ministry,
the Ministry of Health and Social Development, the Federal Immigration
Service, the Federal Agency for State Reserves, and regional administrationsfrom the Southern Federal District.”
VLADIKAVKAZ. The Russian artillery and tanks have destroyed Georgian
fire emplacements in Tskhinval, Col. Igor Konashenkov, an aide to the commander-
in-chief of the Russian Army, told RIA Novosti.
“At 6:30 p.m. Moscow time, Georgian fire emplacements from which they have
been shooting at the city were destroyed by the Russian artillery and tanks,which have entered the city,” the colonel said.
TBILISI – MOSCOW. Several people were injured as a result of an air raid at
the Georgian Air Force base in Marneuli, the News of Georgia agency reports
citing the statement by the Georgian Foreign Ministry.
According to the ministry, on August 8 Russian military aircraft bombed the
air force base in Marneuli inside Georgia three times.
The Russian military have not confirmed or denied this information.
MOSCOW. Contact with Alan Bulkaty, a Moscow-based correspondent of
the RIA Novosti international department, has been lost. The last time Alan
phoned the editorial board from Tskhinval, attacked by Georgian troops, was at about 8 a.m. on Friday, August 8.
MOSCOW. Georgia has decided to withdraw 1,000 of its troops serving in
Iraq, Reuters said citing a statement by Alexander Lomaya, Secretary of the
Georgian Security Council.
“We have told our American friends that we intend to withdraw half of our
soldiers serving in Iraq within the next few days, because we have been attackedby Russia,” he said. “They are our best troops.”
VLADIKAVKAZ. Twenty Gazelle minivans carrying volunteers from North
Ossetia have crossed the Russia border with South Ossetia, which is being attacked
by Georgia, one of the volunteers told RIA Novosti by telephone. “There are up to 400 volunteers,” he said, adding that the majority of vehiclesmoving across the border were going into South Ossetia.
Saakashvili says situation in Georgia is “a moment of truth”
for Bush
WASHINGTON. Russia’s actions in Georgia are a moment of truth for US
President George Bush, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili told CNN in
his office.
“This is a moment of truth for all – for President Bush, for the United States, for
the rest of the Western world and for all of us, if we want to protect our ideals
and fight for freedom,” he said.
He recalled Bush’s words that Georgia was “a beacon of freedom,” adding that
when he was a student at US universities he had learned that “America always
protects its freedoms and always helps freedom-loving countries.”
According to the White House, the US president upholds the territorial integrity
of Georgia and has been following the latest events.
ROSTOV-ON-DON. The Rostov division of the Young Guards youth movement
created by the United Russia party is to start collecting humanitarian aid
for South Ossetian refugees and citizens on Monday August 11, the organisation’s
press service reports.
“In view of hostilities, the headquarters of the Rostov division of the Young
Guards has decided to start collecting humanitarian aid. We ask you above all
to bring books, games, warm clothes, foods (cereals, sugar, and tinned foods),
and medicines,” the press service says. “We appeal to everyone who cares to support the people at war.”
MOSCOW. Twelve Russian peacekeepers were killed and 150 wounded in
Tskhinval on August 8, a spokesman for the command of the Joint Peacekeeping
Forces told RIA Novosti.
“Georgian spokesmen lie when they say that Georgian troops did not fire at
Russian peacekeepers. Our comrades are dead,” he said.
According to the source, Georgians directed artillery and machinegun fire
at the peacekeepers, who are currently engaged in a shootout with Georgian
army units in the southern suburbs of Tskhinval.
MOSCOW. Russian peacekeepers are engaged in a fierce shootout with Georgian
army units in the southern suburbs of Tskhinval, a spokesman for thecommand of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces told RIA Novosti.
Saakashvili wants to provoke a conflict between Russia and
the West
RIO DE JANEIRO. “Mikhail Saakashvili’s strategy is to provoke a conflict between
Russia and the West and use the ensuing political crisis to ensure Western
support in the form of money, arms and political assistance to his regime,”
said Sergei Markov, a deputy of the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s
parliament, and director of the Institute of Political Studies.
“We must avoid doing what Saakashvili wants us to do most of all,” Markov
said in Rio de Janeiro, where he is attending an international conference. “He wants Russian soldiers and American officers working in Georgia to start
shooting at each other.”
The political analyst said it was not by chance that the Georgian invasion of
South Ossetia began with the start of the Olympic Games in Beijing. “Saakashvili wanted to use the diversion to occupy [South] Ossetia. He hoped
Russia would not dare send its troops there to protect its citizens,” Markov
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