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Georgia 'pulls out of S Ossetia' Georgia 'pulls out of S Ossetia'
(about 3 hours later)
Georgia says its forces have withdrawn from the separatist enclave of South Ossetia, and that Russian troops are now in control of the regional capital. Georgia says its troops have withdrawn from the breakaway region of South Ossetia and that Russian forces are in control of its capital, Tskhinvali.
An interior ministry spokesman told the BBC it was not a military defeat but a necessary step to protect civilians from a "humanitarian catastrophe". An government spokesman told the BBC it was not a military defeat but a necessary step to protect civilians.
Georgia says Russia has brought an additional 10,000 soldiers across its frontiers, readying for a raid. But a Russian military spokesman said Georgia had not withdrawn its forces and the situation remained tense.
Earlier, Russian jets bombed a military airfield close to the Georgian capital. Russian PM Vladimir Putin has suggested it is unlikely that South Ossetia will re-integrate with the rest of Georgia.
There was no independent confirmation of the attack, although the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse, who was in Tbilisi, said he had heard a loud explosion about the same time. Warships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet have arrived at the Georgian coast near the western breakaway region of Abkhazia, Russian media reports say.
Georgian troops have pulled back to positions at or south of those held on 6 August, when the current hostilities began, said Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili. Meanwhile, Georgia says 10,000 Russian soldiers had crossed its frontiers.
ARMED FORCES COMPARED GEORGIA Total personnel: 26,900Main battle tanks (T-72): 82Armoured personnel carriers: 139Combat aircraft (Su-25): SevenHeavy artillery pieces (including Grad rocket launchers): 95 RUSSIA Total personnel: 641,000Main battle tanks (various): 6,717Armoured personnel carriers: 6,388Combat aircraft (various): 1,206Heavy artillery pieces (various): 7,550Source: Jane's Sentinel Country Risk Assessments Earlier, Georgian officials said Russian jets had bombed a military airfield close to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.
He told the BBC that the withdrawal was necessary because of the mass casualties both within Georgia and South Ossetia, at the hands of the Russians. name="goback"> class="bodl" href="#map">See a map of the region
Mr Utiashvili said 100 Georgian soldiers had been killed and many more injured. Three bombs had been dropped on the airfield, where there is a factory producing Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jets, they said.
Earlier, Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili called for an immediate ceasefire to stop what he described as an "annihilation" of his country's democracy. There was no independent confirmation of the attack, although the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse, who was in the city at the time, said he had heard a loud explosion at the time.
The current fighting began three days ago when Georgian forces launched a surprise attack to regain control of South Ossetia, which has had de facto independence since the end of a civil war in 1992.
The move followed days of exchanges of heavy fire with the Russian-backed separatists. In response to the Georgian crackdown, Moscow sent armoured units across the border frontier.
Georgia's aspiration to join Nato... is driven by its attempt to drag other nations and peoples into its bloody adventures Vladimir PutinRussian Prime Minister Russia shuns Western voicesLatest pictures
Earlier, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili called for an immediate ceasefire after Russian planes carried out air strikes on the central Georgian town of Gori, not far from South Ossetia. Scores of civilians were reported killed.
The Georgian parliament approved on Saturday a presidential decree declaring a "state of war" for 15 days.
In the absence of independent verification, there are conflicting figures about the casualties suffered on both sides but the numbers appeared to rise sharply on Saturday.In the absence of independent verification, there are conflicting figures about the casualties suffered on both sides but the numbers appeared to rise sharply on Saturday.
Based on Russian and South Ossetian estimates, the death toll on the South Ossetian side was at least 1,500. According to Moscow, all but a few of the dead were civilians. Based on Russian and South Ossetian estimates, the death toll on the South Ossetian side was at least 1,500, mostly civilians. Georgian casualty figures ranged from 82 dead, including 37 civilians, to a figure of about 130 dead.
Abkhazia concerns
Speaking to the BBC, Georgian interior ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said Georgian troops had pulled back to positions at or south of those held before 6 August, when the hostilities began.
ARMED FORCES COMPARED GEORGIA Total personnel: 26,900Main battle tanks (T-72): 82Armoured personnel carriers: 139Combat aircraft (Su-25): SevenHeavy artillery pieces (including Grad rocket launchers): 95 RUSSIA Total personnel: 641,000Main battle tanks (various): 6,717Armoured personnel carriers: 6,388Combat aircraft (various): 1,206Heavy artillery pieces (various): 7,550Source: Jane's Sentinel Country Risk Assessments
From there, he said, they were engaged in fighting Russian forces, who are still understood to be inside South Ossetia and in full control of the regional capital.
Mr Utiashvili told the BBC that the withdrawal was necessary because of the mass civilian and military casualties both within Georgia and South Ossetia.
He said that Georgia was now facing a "humanitarian catastrophe", adding that 100 soldiers Georgian soldiers had been killed, and many more wounded.
A spokesman for the Russian peacekeepers said Georgia had not withdrawn its forces from South Ossetia and insists Georgia had to do that before any kind of ceasefire could come into effect.
A Russian commander in the conflict zone, Maj-Gen Marat Kulakhmetov, said the situation remained tense, and there was no negotiation process. Both sides were preparing for further military action, he suggested.
Earlier, Georgia said Russia had bought an additional 10,000 troops across Georgia's frontiers - 6,000 by land into South Ossetia and 4,000 by sea into the breakaway republic of Abkhazia.
The UN's Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, Edmond Mulet, said there were indications pro-Russian Abkhaz separatists were preparing to launch an offensive against Georgian forces in the Tbilisi-controlled upper Kodori gorge.
"At this point we are particularly concerned that the conflict appears to be spreading beyond South Ossetia into Abkhazia," he told reporters in New York.
'Fatal blow''Fatal blow'
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused Georgia of genocide against the South Ossetian people and defended Moscow's military action to intervene directly. On Saturday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused Georgia of seeking "bloody adventures" and trying to drag other countries into the conflict.
name="goback"> class="bodl" href="#map">See a map of the region On Saturday, he flew to the Russian city of Vladikavkaz, close to the border with South Ossetia, where he met those who had fled the violence. class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7550965.stm">Eyewitness: Panic in Gori
He said the territorial integrity of Georgia had "suffered a fatal blow", suggesting that it was unlikely that South Ossetia would re-integrate with the rest of Georgia after the conflict. In an outspoken attack, he referred directly to Georgia's aspirations to join Nato, a move which Moscow strongly opposes.
He said the conflict had created at least 34,000 refugees. Speaking in the city of Vladikavkaz, just north of the South Ossetian border, Mr Putin described the actions of Georgian soldiers as genocide against the South Ossetian people and defended Moscow's military action to intervene directly.
This figure wildly conflicts with that cited by the UN refugee agency, which it says is based on information supplied by both sides. He said the territorial integrity of Georgia had "suffered a fatal blow".
After meeting people who had fled the violence, Mr Putin said the conflict had created at least 34,000 refugees.
The figure wildly conflicts with that cited by the UN refugee agency.
The UN estimates that about 2,400 people have fled South Ossetia to other parts of Georgia while between 4,000 and 5,000 have crossed the border into Russia.The UN estimates that about 2,400 people have fled South Ossetia to other parts of Georgia while between 4,000 and 5,000 have crossed the border into Russia.
Redrawing the mapRedrawing the map
Meanwhile, a joint delegation of the US, EU and the Organisation of Security and Co-operation in Europe is heading to Georgia in the hope of brokering a truce.Meanwhile, a joint delegation of the US, EU and the Organisation of Security and Co-operation in Europe is heading to Georgia in the hope of brokering a truce.
It comes as a third emergency session of the UN Security Council ended without an agreement on the wording of a statement calling for a ceasefire.It comes as a third emergency session of the UN Security Council ended without an agreement on the wording of a statement calling for a ceasefire.
class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7550965.stm">Eyewitness: Panic in Gori class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7552016.stm">Russia shuns Western voices class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/7551942.stm">Latest pictures But emissaries from the US and Europe who are Nato members may not be seen as honest brokers by the Kremlin when it comes to Georgia, the BBC's diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall says.
But emissaries from the US and Europe who are Nato members may not be seen as honest brokers by the Kremlin when it comes to Georgia, BBC's diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall says.
The danger now is that Russia will not only use this crisis to demonstrate its military power in the region, but argue it is time to redraw the map, she adds.The danger now is that Russia will not only use this crisis to demonstrate its military power in the region, but argue it is time to redraw the map, she adds.
Moscow has said there can be no "consultations" with Georgia unless Georgian forces withdraw to the positions they held outside South Ossetia before Thursday.Moscow has said there can be no "consultations" with Georgia unless Georgian forces withdraw to the positions they held outside South Ossetia before Thursday.
Meanwhile Russian jets have bombed several towns, including the central Georgian city of Gori, where Georgian troops had been massing to support forces engaged in South Ossetia.
Georgian TV has also shown pictures of damage to the Black Sea port of Poti, the site of a major oil shipment facility, after a reported Russian air strike.
President Saakashvili told the BBC on Saturday that Moscow wanted to take control of energy routes to Europe and accused it of "war crimes" against civilians.
His parliament has approved a presidential decree declaring that the country is in a state of war for 15 days.
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