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Russian tanks enter Gori
Violence has flared up in Georgia, where Russian tanks have been seen patrolling the town of Gori, says the BBC's Gavin Hewitt near the scene.One witness told the BBC he saw a convoy of Russian vehicles on the road to the Georgian capital Tbilisi. People leaving the town say there is looting going on involving South Ossetian separatists. Another BBC reporter in the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, says many buildings have been totally destroyed. A ceasefire is in place, but it seems to be very fragile, correspondents say. In Gori, the Russian tanks seem to be dismantling and destroying Georgian army bases in the town, our correspondent says. It is not clear where the Russian convoy on the Tibilisi road is heading. There are reports of residents being stripped of their belongings at gunpoint on the entrances to the city. There is a pall of smoke over Gori's market, but it is not clear if any more fighting has been going on in the town Terrified residents have watched their houses being torched, and the situation may well be worse in outlying villages, our correspondent adds. There is also a Russian checkpoint with two Russian tanks outside Gori on the main road leading into the town from the Georgian capital Tbilisi, an eyewitness told the BBC. But the Russian foreign ministry says it has no Russian troops left in Gori, Reuters news agency reports. On Tuesday, Russian forces said their military activity in the area was completed after Georgian security forces were driven out of the town during fighting. In Tskhinvali, the main offices of the local administration are a blackened shell, says the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in the South Ossetian capital. There are apartment buildings all around with smashed windows, with bullet and shrapnel damage and gaping holes where there used to be windows. Two Georgian tanks stand on a square near what was the main base of Russian peacekeepers. Residents who are out trying to clear their wrecked homes say they have no water and no electricity. The streets are quiet now, but houses were on fire in villages along the route to the city, our correspondent adds. Tskhinvali itself is under Russian control now and there are no reports of any serious fighting, but there is no confirmation as to when the Russian troops will withdraw, a Russian military spokesman said. Foreign ministers from the European Union are holding emergency talks in Brussels on the crisis between Russia and Georgia. A key element calls for all forces to return to the areas where they were before fighting broke out last week. Some 100,000 people are estimated to have been displaced by the conflict, which has created huge tensions in international relations. Posted by: john frum 2008-08-13 |
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