.
TSKHINVALI, South Ossetia (AP) – Russia sent columns of tanks and reportedly bombed Georgian air bases after Georgia launched a military offensive 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 de facto 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 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.
(Army Times) – Georgia has about 2,000 troops deployed to Iraq, making it the third largest coalition force contributor behind the U.S. and Great Britain.
The U.S. called Aug. 8 for an immediate cease-fire in the conflict, which began when Russia sent columns of tanks and reportedly bombed Georgian air bases after Georgia launched a major military offensive to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia.
One of the air bases reportedly bombed was Vaziani, where in July about 1,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers participated in a combat-skills training exercise with Georgian forces.
The exercise, Operation Immediate Response 2008, ended less than 10 days before the current clash between Georgia and Russia began.
The Marines and soldiers taught combat skills to Georgian soldiers, as well as about 30 troops from nearby Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine. The U.S. troops included about 300 reservists with 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, and about 300 Army reservists with the Winder, Ga.-based 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment.
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili praised the exercise July 21, saying on Georgian television that it showed the country had “the best trained and equipped army” in the strategic Caucasus mountain region, according to the Associated Press.
TBILISI, August 8 (Itar-Tass) — Georgian governmental forces fully control Tskhinvali, as well as all districts and residential areas in South Ossetia with the exception of the Java district, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said in a televised address to the nation at 9:30 p.m. Moscow time.
“The city of Tskhinvali has been fully freed from illegal armed units. Unfortunately, Tskhinvali has been damaged greatly in the fire exchanges of the past two days and the intensive bombings done by Russian warplanes today,” he said.
(BBC News) Aug. 9, 2008 – Russia says it is sending extra troops to the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia after another night of fierce fighting with Georgian forces. President Dmitry Medvedev said his country had begun an operation “to force the Georgian side to peace”.
Russian jets have also bombed military targets in the Georgian town of Gori. Georgian soldiers told the BBC the targets were three nearby military bases, where thousands of troops are stationed. Soldiers and civilians have been seen running through the streets, fleeing for safety.
Earlier, the Georgian foreign ministry also said the Black Sea port of Poti, which is the site of a major oil shipment facility, had been “devastated” by a Russian aerial bombardment.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."
