Russia, Georgia Clash Over Tiny Province

Georgian Army Moves To Retake South Ossetia; Hundreds Of Civilians Reported Dead

(CBS/AP)  Russia sent columns of tanks and reportedly bombed Georgian air bases Friday after Georgia launched a major military offensive Friday to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia, threatening to ignite a broader conflict.

Hundreds of civilians were reported dead in the worst outbreak of hostilities since the province won defacto independence in a war against Georgia that ended in 1992. Witnesses said the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali was devastated.

"I saw bodies lying on the streets, around ruined buildings, in cars," said Lyudmila Ostayeva, 50, who had fled with her family to Dzhava, a village near the border with Russia. "It's impossible to count them now. There is hardly a single building left undamaged."

The fighting broke out as much of the world's attention was focused on the start of the Olympic Games and many leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Bush, were in Beijing.

The timing suggests Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili may have been counting on surprise to fulfill his longtime pledge to wrest back control of South Ossetia - a key to his hold on power.

Saakashvili agreed the timing was not coincidental, but accused Russia of being the aggressor. "Most decision makers have gone for the holidays," he said in an interview with CNN. "Brilliant moment to attack a small country."

The Russian stock market plunged around 6.5 percent on Friday, apparently in response to the fighting.

Diplomats called for another emergency session of the United Nations Security Council, its second since early Friday morning seeking to prevent an all-out war.

"The deepening conflict between Russia and Georgia is particulary vexing to the U.N. Security Council which met well into the night Thursday and again on Friday to reach an agreement on how to phrase a call for an end to the use of force and a return to the negotiating table," said CBS News Foreign Affairs Analyst Pamela Falk from U.N. headquarters.

"Since Russia is a veto-holding member of the U.N. Security Council, the negotiations were an attempt to keep Russia on board while the U.S. took a stand in support of the pro-Western government of Georgia and defended what it called Georgia's sovereignty and terroritorial integrity," said Falk, "but the fighting on the ground made an agreement difficult since neither Russia nor Georgia are a member of NATO."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had spoken to the parties involved and was working to end the fighting, State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos told reporters.

CBS News correspondent Richard Roth reports that while Russia's plans remain unclear, both sides have strong political interests in keeping a lid on the violence. While Georgia hopes to join NATO, Russia would likely prefer to avoid conflict in a region so close to its own city of Sochi - slated to host the Winter Olympics in 2014.

Georgia, a staunch U.S. ally, has about 2,000 troops in Iraq, making it the third-largest contributor to coalition forces after the U.S. and Britain. But Saakashvili told CNN that the troops would be called home Saturday in the face of the South Ossetia fighting.

Georgia, which borders the Black Sea between Turkey and Russia, was ruled by Moscow for most of the two centuries preceding the breakup of the Soviet Union. Georgia has angered Russia by seeking NATO membership - a bid Moscow regards as part of a Western effort to weaken its influence in the region.

The U.N. refugee agency said Friday that hundreds were fleeing the fighting in South Ossetia and seeking safety elsewhere in Georgia or neighboring Russia.

The leader of South Ossetia's rebel government, Eduard Kokoity, said about 1,400 people were killed in the onslaught, the Interfax news agency reported. The toll could not be independently confirmed.

Ten Russian peacekeepers were killed and 30 wounded when their barracks were hit in Georgian shelling, said Russian Ground Forces spokesman Col. Igor Konashenkov. Russia has soldiers in South Ossetia as peacekeeping forces but Georgia alleges they back the separatists.

Georgia's Foreign Ministry accused Russian aircraft of bombing two military air bases inside Georgia, inflicting some casualties and destroying several military aircraft. Rustavi 2 television said four people were killed and five wounded at the Marneuli air base.

Russia's Defense Ministry said it was sending reinforcements for its peacekeepers, and Russian state television and Georgian officials reported a convoy of tanks had crossed the border. The convoy was expected to reach the provincial capital, Tskhinvali, by evening, Channel One television said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, citing local medical officials, said that Tskhinvali's main hospital had closed down after coming under fire from artillery.

Water, electricity and telephone lines in the city also have been cut off, ICRC spokeswoman Maia Kardava said by telephone from the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.

Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili said government troops were now in full control of Tskhinvali, but the RIA-Novosti news agency quoted Konashenkov as saying late Friday that Russian tanks were firing on Georgian positions in the city.

"We are facing Russian aggression," said Georgia's Security Council chief Kakha Lomaya. "They have sent in their troops and weapons and they are bombing our towns."

Putin has warned that the Georgian attack will draw retaliation and the Defense Ministry pledged to protect South Ossetians, most of whom have Russian citizenship.

Chairing a session of his Security Council in the Kremlin, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also vowed that Moscow will protect Russian citizens.

"In accordance with the constitution and federal law, I, as president of Russia, am obliged to protect lives and dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are located," Medvedev said, according to Russian news reports. "We won't allow the death of our compatriots go unpunished."

On Friday, an AP reporter saw tanks and other heavy weapons concentrating on the Russian side of the border with South Ossetia supporting the reports of an incursion. Some villagers were fleeing into Russia.

"I saw them (the Georgians) shelling my village," said Maria, who gave only her first name. She said she and other villagers spent the night in a field and then fled toward the Russian border as the fighting escalated.

Yakobashvili said Georgian forces had shot down four Russian combat planes over Georgian territory but gave no details. Russia's Defense Ministry denied an earlier Georgia report about one Russian plane downed and had no immediate comment on the latest claim.

Yakobashvili said that one Russian plane had dropped a bomb on the Vaziani military base near the Georgian capital, but no one was hurt.

More than 1,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers were at the base last month to teach combat skills to Georgian troops. Georgia has about 2,000 troops in Iraq, making it the third-largest contributor to coalition forces after the U.S. and Britain.

South Ossetia officials said Georgia attacked with aircraft, armor and heavy artillery. Georgian troops fired missiles at Tskhinvali, an official said, and many buildings were on fire.

Georgia's president said Russian aircraft bombed several Georgian villages and other civilian facilities.

A senior Russian diplomat in charge of the South Ossetian conflict, Yuri Popov, dismissed the Georgian claims of Russian bombings as misinformation, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.

Russia's Defense Ministry denounced the Georgian attack as a "dirty adventure." "Blood shed in South Ossetia will weigh on their conscience," the ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site.

Saakashvili long has pledged to restore Tbilisi's rule over South Ossetia and another breakaway province, Abkhazia. Both regions have run their own affairs without international recognition since splitting from Georgia in the early 1990s and built up ties with Moscow.

Relations between Georgia and Russia worsened notably this year as Georgia pushed to join NATO and Russia dispatched additional peacekeeper forces to Abkhazia.

The Georgian attack came just hours after Saakashvili announced a unilateral cease-fire in a television broadcast late Thursday in which he also urged South Ossetian separatist leaders to enter talks on resolving the conflict.

Georgian officials later blamed South Ossetian separatists for thwarting the cease-fire by shelling Georgian villages in the area.

[petro49l]

There is no reason for Georgians to be massacred by Russian missiles. Moscow would practice genocide to maintain their oil supply from Central Asia. Georgia should negotiate.

[jgunther7]

alabamapaper, you will be pleased to know that the Russians are evacuating non combat covilians from the danger areas and providing emergency medical facilities and supplies to replace the hospitals destroyed by the Georgians.

[oneamerican_]

Liberals should be outraged at Russia''''s ABSOLUTE IMPERIALISM AND ITS DRIVE TO RE-ESTABLISH COMMUNIST SOVIET CONTROL OVER OTHER NATIONS - but really, the liberals couldn''''t care less.

They only hate America - and they LOVE communism in its worst form.

And you can bet that if Obama is elected, Russia will run unchecked in its ambitions.

[alabamapaper]

On the energy situation, we should be ashamed. We are the country that the rest of the world looks to. We have allowed our selves to become vulnerable to unacceptable levels by being so dependant on forign energy. This small conflict in Georgia could be economically devastating to us as well as a dozen other energy funnels around the world. We can not expect for our diplomacy to work when countries like Iran and Russia can take control of small geographical areas and cripple our economy. I think that Obama''s energy policy is non exhistant and based in deception and fantasy and that McCains''s energy policy is woefully inadequate and not likely to get through congress. We have to become energy diversified and independant quickly or we will face blackmail that will force us into military action at some point. We need to put ourselves in a position where this cannot be done as quickly as possible. It will take action in our congress to get this done. This is where we as citizens should be focusing our attention. McCain or Obama will sign a comprehensive energy policy no matter which is in office. Congress must get this action started and get a bill to them or President Bush as soon as possible. If we started now it would take 10 to 20 years to become energy independant. The closer we are to that goal the less likely we are to face energy blackmail and economic disaster. This makes us a more stable,strong country and makes our diplomatic efforts more likely to succeed.

[alabamapaper]

If the USA and EU let Russia know in no uncertain that Georgia''s sovernity will be backed 100% the conflict will come to a screeching halt. As far as Alabama helping I assume the best way for us to make a difference will be to donate to Organizations providing needed aid to the people who live through this tragedy. No matter what their feelings were before the conflict when exposure and starvation set in people can put almost anything to the side to survive. I would hope that this instinct will allow the necessary aid to be delivered to the area after the conflict is over in the next few days. Russia will not risk much treasure or blood on this and are already looking for a way to leave with their pride intact.

[alabamapaper]

"More than 1,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers were at the base last month to teach combat skills to Georgian troops."
..........

Teaching "combat skills" to attack South Ossetia perhaps?!

Certainly not "combat skills" for Iraq! Please,

This is an example of someone who knows nothing. No matter how dumb you think George Bush is he would not have had 1000 US troops training 34000 Georgians (That is how large their whole military is) to fight with the 1.1 million strong Russian Federation Army. And if Georgia had been the culprit they would have blown the passes and the one tunnel that allowed the Russians to move their troops into the area in large numbers. This would have effectively made moving heavy equipment like tanks into the area almost impossible. This is a Russian forign policy by deception move and they have killed thousands while doing it.

[alabamapaper]

Reading some of the comments on this page I am in utter amazement of the ignorance of many of the posted comments. I would hope that this is not an example of the general population but an example of fringe elements. If these people hate our country and leadership so much why don''t they get off the computer and go out and do things to make our country better. I served our country for 12 years in peace and war and served with the best people I have ever met. Some were liberal some conservative and all were there to make a difference and they did so. I look at people who think there only recourse is to hate and complain and whine are loosers who do not have the backbone to get off their backside and do something for the country. If you hate George Bush the by all means get out and wor to elect someone else to lead our precious country. Nothing good is ever accomplished by spewing hate and negativity. If you see something that makes you mad and you want changed, go out and work toward changing it.

[alabamapaper]

One should consider if this is a free breakaway republic why do 90 % of the people have Russian Passports. Russia never wanted Georgia to break away its self and the pipeline for oil running through there keeps Russial from playing energy blackmail with the rest of the world. This is simply another case of Russia using other people, who are to ignorent to know better, to advance their self intrest. It is a shame that these people are dying for this. Unfortunatly the EU and USA must back Georgia in this to the hilt in both arms and deplomacy and later ,if necessary, troops. Russia sees the energy volnerability of the USA right now and think it is time to cause us Economic catastrophic dammage. Unfortunatly the country of Georgia is caught up in the middle. Without the 72% dependance on forign energy by the USA this country and region means little to Russia and they would not have been working to cause conflict there. Russia''s goals and tactics there are similar to their goals and tactics in Central America and Africa in the 1980''s. This can be stopped now if the USA and EU let Russia know in no uncertain terms we are behind Georgia to any extent necessary. Russia will then pull back and atempt to keep stirring up strife in the region until a more opportune time to try again. Just remember it is the masssive oil profits that have given Russia the means to start these types of actions again.

[latrocinor-2009]

, George Bush and Condi Rice don%u2019t have a conscience.

Posted by InTheShade
..........

And neither do you.

[crawford1009]

Tell me if this sounds stupid or not but im only 16 but yes South Ossetia may be located in the nation of Georgia but it is a break away territory but it is trying to become an independent nation, South Ossetia already anounced that it was "free" back in 2006 , and my second thing is that 90% of the people in South Ossetia are RUSSIAN citizens so RUSSIA was simply defending/ protecting its people

[m95foru]

Putin''s at fault not US or Georgia,.....Georgia has a right to take control over it''s own territory.Those breakaways are like the old west,..no law or govt at all.

Putin is just using the citizens there as a wedge....and you folks who blame "dumb" US citizens for everything,...find another song to sing about..it''s as old as methuselah.

[jgunther7]

Ossetia was a separate part of Imperial Russia, before it was arbitrarily lumped together with Georgia as a Soviet State. As soon as the Soviet system collapsed, Ossetia broke off again to be on their own. However, as Saakashvili is a surrogate of the US, and the US wants territory as close to Russia as possible, they decided to go for it. Too bad about those poor Ossetians that happened to be in the way.

Tthe reason it is starting up now, is the US has been training Georgian troops for the purpose of invading Ossetia, and Bush only has months to go. With Condi Rice on the spot to guide them and every body%u2019s attention focused else ware, why not. Saakashvili agreed the timing was not coincidental with the Olympics, but said Russia was the aggressor. "Most decision makers have gone for the holidays," he told CNN. "Brilliant moment to attack a small country."

[babooph]

Taking on Russia sounds like idiocy-I thought only the US would put fools like that in a position to do such a stupid thing?

[daysrnumbrd]

"More than 1,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers were at the base last month to teach combat skills to Georgian troops."
..........

Teaching "combat skills" to attack South Ossetia perhaps?!

Certainly not "combat skills" for Iraq! Please, 2,000 Georgian troops in Iraq are just enough bodies to help clean the toilets that our soldiers krap in.

However, as "tapsettle" had eluded to, the attack on South Ossetia and its people (mostly Russian) was clearly planned, by more than just the political leadership of Georgia. Georgia is yet another way to route gas and oil from the Caspian Sea reserves through land to the coast of an allie in the Black Sea (Georgia), ready to be put on a tanker and shipped wherever it makes the most money for the oil tycoons around the world. This military action by Georgian forces is not a coincidence.

[jgunther7]

Wait a minute, George Bush is in China watching the olympics, and he has left Condilisa Rice in Georgia to run the war. The more I look at this, Bush might be dumber than McCain.

[intheshade-2009]

Russia''s Defense Ministry denounced the Georgian attack as a "dirty adventure." "Blood shed in South Ossetia will weigh on their conscience". Don%u2019t think so, George Bush and Condi Rice don%u2019t have a conscience.

[jgunther7]

tapsettle says the Georgian attack means Russia will secure the oil transitway for sure. Yet another payback for the dumb americans that elected a dumb president. I think tapsettle is onto something. If this was a chess game, Bush just got check, mate. Makes one wonder, what would happen if they elected John McCain, he is even dumber.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by

[tapsettle]

The US administration pre-prepared their condemnation statements of Russia. They not only had advance warning of Georgias ''surprise'' attack, they trained much of the Georgian army to do it, which is probably why it has failed already. Bush wants his hands on the oil-gas transitway in the region, but his stupid support for the Georgian attack means Russia will secure it for sure. Yet another payback for the dumb americans that elected a dumb american.

[mljohns00]

Heck. No need to fight. Let Russia have Georgia AND Mississippi. Not much value to ''em anyway.

[jsbears48]

Which is exactly why we need obama, in order to rebuild our reputation around the world