ABC/Radio Australia, August 7

Georgian forces have reportedly surrounded the capital of breakaway South Ossetia and are advancing on the city.

A South Ossetian law enforcement official says 15 civilians have been killed by Georgian firing on Tshkinvali.

The Georgian government says it has decided to "restore constitutional order" in the region which broke away from Tbilisi's control in the early 1990s.

The Georgian offensive came within hours of reports that Georgia and South Ossetia agreed to meet on Friday for talks and the declaration of a unilateral ceasefire by Georgia.

New York Times, By Anne Barnard & Andrew Kramer, August 8

MOSCOW — The sharpest fighting since the early 1990s in the disputed Caucasian enclave of South Ossetia threatened to draw Russia and the American-backed former Soviet republic of Georgia into direct military conflict on Friday.

Georgian officials said their military had fired on Russian planes and that their aircraft had bombed a convoy of Russian tanks that moved into South Ossetia, the pro-Russian enclave that has enjoyed de facto autonomy from Georgia since 2004.

Russian officials said they had not yet decided whether to respond militarily, and a local Russian official said the convoy was humanitarian.

But the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday afternoon that it would protect Russian citizens in the territory and Russian peacekeepers who came under fire in the capital of the enclave, Tskhinvali.

[...]

Speaking in Beijing, where he traveled to attend the opening of the Olympic Games, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said Georgia’s actions "will certainly lead to retaliatory actions.”

Russian forces control part of Tskhinvali -Tbilisi
Fri Aug 8, 2008 10:50am EDT
TBILISI, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Russian forces control part of the capital of breakaway South Ossetia, the Georgian interior ministry said on Friday, after Russia sent forces over its border to repel a Georgian assault on separatists.

Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said Russian forces were shelling Georgian troops "from tanks and airplanes".

more

Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_South_Ossetia_(2008)

to follow on the Caucasus's also.

http://www.registan.net/index.php/2008/08/08/the-caucasus-drops/#comments

Reuters, By Sue Pleming, August 9

WASHINGTON - Russia has used "disproportionate" force in the South Ossetia conflict with Georgia and must immediately agree to a cease-fire with Tbilisi, a senior U.S. official said on Saturday.

Russia and Georgia came into direct conflict over South Ossetia this week after Tbilisi launched an offensive to regain control over the breakaway separatist region.

"The response has been far disproportionate from whatever threat Russia was citing," the senior American official told reporters in a conference call. "We are calling for an immediate cease-fire and a stand down of all troops."

The official, who was not authorized to speak on the record by the Bush administration, said Russia was using a giant strategic bomber capable of carrying 54,000 pounds (24,500 kg) of bombs and had launched ballistic missile attacks on Georgian territory.

"I cannot for the life of me imagine how that could be a proportional response," he said. "The only winning option for Russia is to cease the attacks."

President George W. Bush urged Moscow to stop bombing immediately, saying it marked a dangerous escalation.

The Times Of London, By Mark Franchetti, August 10

Moscow - Oleg Kalchakeyev sighed with relief as he watched the evening news on Thursday.

The reports told of renewed skirmishes between separatist rebels seeking South Ossetian independence and the Georgian army – but also that Mikhail Saakashvili, Georgia’s president, had declared a ceasefire. On Friday, so the young leader said, the two sides would sit down to negotiate.

Kalchakeyev, a car mechanic from Tskhinvali, the South Ossetian capital, told his son: “At least we’ll be able to watch the Olympics.”

Only a few hours later, however, shortly before dawn, Kalchakeyev woke up to the sound of explosions. He looked out of the window and saw the night sky over Tskhinvali filled with tracer fire. A barrage of Grad and Katyusha rockets followed.

It is unclear who first violated the ceasefire, but less than eight hours after Saakashvili’s pledge, the Georgian president had ordered his troops to retake South Ossetia by force.

"Suddenly there was a massive explosion which hit a house down the road from us,” said Kalchakeyev, who managed to flee across the border to Russia.

“Our windows shattered and I jumped for cover. I grabbed my son and wife and ran down to the basement where I was joined by dozens of other civilians. The bombing only got worse. It was relentless and went on for hours. I never thought it would come to this – Georgians bombing us – not in my wildest imagination.”

[...]

Yesterday it emerged that Tskhinvali, a quiet, small town, had been all but destroyed by the initial Georgian attack on Friday.

As a barrage of artillery fell on its outskirts, Georgian tanks moved into the centre where they were met with fierce resistance from South Ossetian separatist rebels.

“Georgian snipers are taking down anything that moves, even outside the town’s hospital, which is making it hard to deliver the wounded. They are not sparing anyone,” claimed a South Ossetian government spokesman.

The presidential palace of a region of only 70,000 inhabitants was in flames as intense hand-to-hand fighting broke out across the town. Ordinary apartment blocks were hit as the remains of Georgian tanks struck by rocket-propelled grenades burned in the middle of the street.