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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Russian bomb city of Gori |
| 2008-08-09 |
| Russian jets have bombed targets in the Georgian town of Gori, about 25km (15 miles) from the intense fighting in South Ossetia. Here the BBC's Richard Galpin describes chaotic scenes in Gori on Saturday. We saw the impact of the air strikes - buildings on fire. We've also seen that the Russians missed their targets at least once - they hit a residential apartment block. Two buildings are on fire, with civilians inside. We were told a number of people were killed and injured. We saw at least one man pulled out dead. We were told the main hospital had filled up with casualties. A series of loud explosions was heard in the town. We could hear the Russian jets. Georgian soldiers told the BBC the targets were military bases in the town. There are three military bases where thousands of Georgian troops are currently stationed. There are scenes of panic in the town. Large numbers of troops are also searching for shelter. Soldiers have been seen running through the streets and civilians fleeing for safety. There are also large plumes of smoke rising above Gori. All night we've seen a very large number of Georgian troops pour into this town. Some of them are reservists, which means there is mass mobilisation going on in this country. So far the worst situation is within South Ossetia. There has been a huge bombardment of the provincial capital Tskhinvali in the past 48 hours. People are having to live in shelters there for a long time. There is also a lot of fighting in the villages around Tskhinvali. The South Ossetians claimed 1,400 people had been killed in the first 24 hours. The Georgians say that figure is nonsense. Hospitals here have filled up with casualties. At least 100 people were taken in with injuries. We were told about 30 Georgians had been killed - we assumed soldiers, but we're not sure if that's correct. On the road from Tbilisi to here there were lots of ambulances going back and forth, presumably taking injured people to hospitals in the Georgian capital. There are claims from the Georgian side that several Georgian military bases were bombed by Russian aircraft and a port in the south of the country, on the Black Sea coast a long way from here. Clearly the Russians are choosing a lot of targets around the country. |
| Posted by:Cheretch Crereng9873 |