In an interview with CNN, Saakashvili said Friday, Aug.
8, that Georgia and Russia were practically at war.
"We have Russian tanks moving in," he said. "We have continuous Russian bombardment since yesterday ... specifically targeting the civilian population. Russia is fighting a war with us in our own territory."
According to news reports, Russian forces moved into the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali on Friday after Georgian forces TNK-BP chief leaves Russia ...
S. Korean president calls for new talks ...
Proud Terim Set to Step Down After Turkey Defeat ... had surrounded and shelled the capital of the Russian-backed breakaway province.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Saakashvili has called for a full mobilization In a national televised address Friday, Saakashvili called for a full mobilization: "Hundreds of thousands of Georgians should stand together to save Georgia."
Long military convoys were shown on television Friday on the road from western Georgia toward the separatist region.
Georgian troops now control a "large part of South Ossetia" and are seeing the rebel regions' capital Tskhinvali, Saakashvili said. "Tskhinvali is now liberated and fighting is ongoing now in the center."
At least 15 people, primarily civilians, were killed in heavy shelling and airstrikes of the capital Tskhinvali, news agency Interfax cited South Ossetian officials as saying.
Russia
confirms sending troops
Russia confirmed it has sent "reinforcements" into South Ossetia, as Russia's main news agencies reported that a Russian military convoy had entered the breakaway Georgian region.
"We will not allow the death of our countrymen and peacekeepers to go unpunished," the Russian defense ministry said in a statement. "We have sent reinforcements into the region to help our peacekeepers."
Some 50 heavy Russian tanks, trucks and troops were seen by an AFP reporter Friday heading towards South Ossetia, travelling through the Russian province of North Ossetia.
"This was a very blunt Russian aggression. ... We are right now suffering because we want to be free and we want to be a multi-ethnic democracy," Saakashvili said in the interview. "We are in this situation of self-defense against a big and mighty neighbor. We are a country of less than 5 million people and certainly our forces are not comparable."
Bildunterschrift:
Seeking US help
Saakashvili also said it was in the United States' interest to help his country.
"It's not about Georgia anymore. It's about America, its values," he said. "We are a freedom-loving nation that is right now under attack."
Saakashvili said Georgian forces had shot down two Russian aircraft.
"One of the aircraft was specifically attacking a civilian hospital wounding doctors and patients with no real purpose," he said.
Saakashvili said he witnessed a Russian air attack -- two jets flying very low, looking for "a marketplace in a very busy afternoon, and hitting it, hitting the crowd of people."
Russian officials meanwhile said that at least 10 Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia had been killed and that there were reports of ethnic cleansing.
Merkel calls for end to violence
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Georgian soldiers in South Ossetia German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for an "immediate stop" to all violence in South Ossetia.
"Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for prudence and moderation from all sides of the conflict in South Ossetia and for an immediate stop to all use of violence," her government said in a statement. "The government is in close agreement with its partners in the European Union, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and NATO in this respect."
Germany heads a loose alliance known as the UN Group of Friends of the Secretary General which has been trying to cool tensions between Moscow and Tbilisi over Abkhazia, another breakaway Georgian republic. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Georgia, Abkhazia and Russia in July to present a peace plan.
The EU Commission's spokesman, John Clancy, meanwhile also said that EU officials were "extremely concerned" at the reports of heavy fighting in the South Ossetian conflict zone.
The EU "deplores the loss of life," Clancy said. "The European Commission calls for an immediate end to hostilities and for a swift resumption to negotiations in the framework of existing formats."
The 27-nation bloc "stands ready to increase its contribution to conflict resolution in Georgia with confidence-building measures," he added.
"Dramatic escalation"
EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner was "in close contact" on the matter with both the French presidency of the EU and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) chief, the EU commission spokesman added.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Georgian rocket launchers in South Ossetia Earlier a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana also called for an end to the hostilities.
"We are very concerned by the dramatic escalation of the situation," Cristina Gallach said. "We are following it very closely and we are in contact with all the parties. We renew the appeal given Thursday by the head EU diplomat Javier Solana and call on all parties to end the violence immediately."
OSCE sends envoy
NATO head Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Friday said he was "seriously concerned" over the escalation and called "on all sides for an immediate end of the armed clashes."
At an emergency session of the United Nations late Thursday, Russia failed to push through an agreement for an immediate halt to fighting from both sides.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meanwhile will send a special envoy immediately to Georgia in a bid to kick start negotiations, Finland, the current OSCE chairman, announced Friday.
(Deutsche Welle)
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