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Georgia 'shells breakaway region' | Georgia 'shells breakaway region' |
(20 minutes later) | |
Georgian forces have shelled towns in the breakaway province of South Ossetia, killing three people, separatist officials say. | Georgian forces have shelled towns in the breakaway province of South Ossetia, killing three people, separatist officials say. |
A full mobilisation of forces has been declared, a spokesman for South Ossetia's breakaway government said. | A full mobilisation of forces has been declared, a spokesman for South Ossetia's breakaway government said. |
Georgian authorities blamed the clash on separatist forces, saying they had attacked a Georgian checkpoint. | Georgian authorities blamed the clash on separatist forces, saying they had attacked a Georgian checkpoint. |
South Ossetia, along with Abkhazia, is one of two Georgian regions controlled by separatists close to Russia. | South Ossetia, along with Abkhazia, is one of two Georgian regions controlled by separatists close to Russia. |
South Ossetian officials say Georgia shelled the region's main city, Tskhinvali, and nearby villages overnight - breaching a ceasefire agreed by the two sides. | |
They say three people died and 11 were wounded. | |
"A general mobilisation has been ordered," spokeswoman Irina Gagloyeva told AFP news agency. | |
Georgia, which is seeking to restore its authority in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, accuses Russia of aiming to absorb the regions. | |
Moscow has kept a peacekeeping force in both provinces under an agreement made following the wars of the 1990s, when they broke away from Tbilisi. | |
There are around 2,000 Russians posted in Abkhazia, and about 1,000 in South Ossetia. | |
Tensions between Russia and Georgia have flared up recently, despite Russia lifting economic sanctions against Georgia earlier this month. |