Russian backed breakaway South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali shelled from Georgia

Georgian forces started shelling South Ossetia overnight starting at 11 pm , with a reported 3 dead and 11 injured - following an attack by Georgians at a checkpoint in the village of Ubiat.

Tass report 2 killed and 2 seriously injured. Shelling (Tass describe it as "heavy) was directed at the "capital" of the breakaway region , Tskhinvali, and nearby villages overnight - breaching a recent ceasefire (one of many) agreed by the two sides.

The Russian backed South Ossetian government ordered a full mobilisation in response, say AFP. The South Ossetian Interior Ministry have claimed that Georgia has been moving reinforcements to the conflict zone.

Georgian authorities say they were forced to return fire after separatist militiamen had attacked Georgian-controlled territory in the region.

On Thursday they accused the separatists of staging a roadside bomb attack on the Georgian government's representative in South Ossetia, while the separatists accused the Georgians of killing a local police chief.

Moscow has kept a peacekeeping force in both provinces under an agreement made following the wars of the 1990s, when they broke away from Tbilisi.

There are around 2,000 Russians posted in Abkhazia, and about 1,000 in South Ossetia.

There are "peacekeepers" from a Joint Control Commission in the area but the contingent's commander, Marat Kulakhmetov, says they are keeping out of the immediate area of conflict.

Reuters report that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who is in Turkmenistan said ,"We call for a halt to any provocations, any actions that may trigger further aggravation of the conflict."

In a recent incident 1 man was killed and 4 people injured in Tskhinvali as a result of an overnight shootout on June 14-15 between Georgian and South Ossetian forces. This was just prior to a visit by some EU observers with Murat Jioev, the foreign minister of breakaway South Ossetia, and Boris Chochiev, the chief South Ossetian negotiator, in Tskhinvali.

They also met Dimitri Sanakoev, the head of the provisional administration, in the Georgian-controlled village of Kurta, where the Tbilisi-sponsored South Ossetian provisional administration is headquartered.

Republic of South Ossetia website


Click to enlarge says Gemma