Russia renews South Ossetia attacks

From The Sun (UK)

SWARMS of Russian jets launched fresh attacks on Georgian territory today.
The attacks came as Russia accused Georgia of failing to observe a cease-fire.

The bombings came as a senior Russian General said Georgian troops in breakaway province Abkhazia should disarm or face Russian forces.

From Yahoo news:

Russia backs the separatist government in South Ossetia and sent in tanks and troops on Friday in response to pro-Western Georgia's military offensive to take back the province which broke away in the early 1990s after a separatist war.

Russian and Georgian forces exchanged artillery fire overnight in the capital Tskhinvali, which both sides claim to control, the South Ossetian authorities said in a statement. A South Ossetian spokeswoman said the overnight shelling killed 20 and wounded 150 people.

Russian planes attacked early Sunday the runway of a military airfield near Tbilisi international airport, the secretary of Georgia's national security council, Alexander Lomaia, told AFP.

On Saturday, Russian aircraft staged raids on the port of Poti and the city of Gori, where inhabitants said scores of people were killed.

Russian naval vessels also arrived Sunday at the port of Ochamchira in the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, Lomaia said.

Russia has concentrated a large number of armoured vehicles near the border with Georgia at a crossing not directly at the border with South Ossetia, he added.

As the fighting escalated, the leaders of Russia and Georgia stepped up their war of words.

"What they are doing is nothing to do with conflict, it is about annihilation of a democracy on their borders," Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said in an interview with the BBC on Saturday.

This is how the Czars made Russia what it is.

And there is nothing the Europe can do about it.

What is old is new again.

For some background on Georgia:
Some facts:

The region of present-day Georgia contained the ancient kingdoms of Colchis and Kartli-Iberia. The area came under Roman influence in the first centuries AD and Christianity became the state religion in the 330s. Domination by Persians, Arabs, and Turks was followed by a Georgian golden age (11th to the 13th centuries) that was cut short by the Mongol invasion of 1236. Subsequently, the Ottoman and Persian empires competed for influence in the region. Georgia was absorbed into the Russian Empire in the 19th century. Independent for three years (1918-1921) following the Russian revolution, it was forcibly incorporated into the USSR until the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. Despite myriad problems, some progress on market reforms and democratization has been made since then. An attempt by the government to manipulate legislative elections in November 2003 touched off widespread protests that led to the resignation of Eduard SHEVARDNADZE, president since 1995. New elections in early 2004 swept Mikheil SAAKASHVILI into power along with his National Movement Party.

Area: slightly smaller than South Carolina

Population: 4,677,401 (July 2005 est.)

For much more information click HERE