Official: 23,000 Displaced Persons Registered

The authorities have registered 23,000 displaced persons from the South Ossetian conflict zone and nearby areas as of the evening August 13.

A Georgian lawmaker Koba Subeliani declared about this at a briefing held on August 13. He is coordinating issues of IDPs and accommodation in the given situation.

According to Subeliani, displaced persons were occupying total of 210 places mainly in Tbilisi, but also in the nearby district outside Tbilisi.

Most of the displaced persons are now leaving in the public schools and kindergartens.

Bush accuses Russia over Georgia cease-fire

TBILISI, Georgia (CNN) — President George W. Bush said Wednesday that the United States has received reports of Russian actions that are “inconsistent” with Moscow’s statement it had halted military operations in Georgia.

Pledging support for Georgia, Bush said he was concerned about reports that Russian units had taken positions outside the conflict-hit city of Gori and the port city of Poti. He said Georgian citizens were not being protected from attack.

The remarks by Bush, who said he was sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to France and Georgia to discuss the violence, came after a Russian military convoy advance sparked fears of a major breakdown to a day-old cease-fire agreement.

BBC – Violence Flares in Georgian Town Gori

Violence has flared up in Georgia, where Russian tanks have been seen patrolling the town of Gori, the BBC reports.

According to the BBC, Russia has denied reports that a convoy of its vehicles seen on the road to the Georgian capital is heading there. People leaving Gori say there is looting going on involving South Ossetian separatists.

The BBC’s correspondent reports that in the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, many buildings have been totally destroyed.

Russian convoy heads into Georgia, violating truce

By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA and MISHA DZHINDZHIKHASHVILI, Associated Press Writer

OUTSIDE GORI, Georgia – Russian troops and paramilitaries thrust deep into Georgia on Wednesday, rolling into the strategic city of Gori and violating the truce designed to end the six-day war that has uprooted 100,000 people and scarred the Georgian landscape.

Georgian officials said Gori was looted and bombed by the Russians, who denied the claim. An AP reporter later saw dozens of tanks and military vehicles leaving the city, roaring southeast.

175 Persons from Georgian Side Have Been Killed in Tskhinvali Region

Healthcare Minister Sandro Kvitashvili stated that according to the latest data, 175 persons from the Georgian side have been killed in Tskhinvali conflict zone.

According to him, making a peaceful corridor in Tskhinvali has not been managed until present. It is necessary to take Georgian wounded population from Tskhinvali hot sports.

According to CNN, Russians Moving South from Gori Town

Russians moving deeper into Georgia, – CNN reports.

According to CNN, a convoy of Russian armored personnel carriers was heading deeper into Georgia Wednesday. Chance, on the road with the Russian column, said it was moving slowly south from Gori. As the TV company reports, early fears that it was headed for the capital, Tbilisi, were allayed when the convoy turned down a side road.

‘Georgian officials declare that the convoy was heading for an abandoned Georgian military base’, CNN reports.

Georgia and Russia have accused each other of violating a cease-fire only 24 hours after it was agreed.

The six-point deal was meant to end the fighting over the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but both sides traded accusations Wednesday.

Patrol Police Blocks Road Leading to Gori

The road leading to Gori has been blocked.
Head of Tbilisi Patrol Police Giorgi Gegechkori informed the InterpressNews regarding this.
As he noted, the road leading to Gori from Tbilisi, is already blocked in the direction of Avchala and Dighomi. The decision was received proceeding from security measures.
‘The situation is under control at present, though security measures are reinforced and the decision was received proceeding from this’, Gegechkori stated noting that it’s uncertain yet when the road leading from Tbilisi to Gori will be opened.
Russian regular army has taken new position. They have blocked highway leading to West Georgia.

Russian occupants along with Ossetians keep on marauding in Gori

Russian occupants along with Ossetian armed formations keep on marauding in some villages of Gori district.

Reportedly, three foreign journalists have become the victims of their aggression this time. The armed gangs of looters deprived the journalists of the shot material and cameras and a car.

Situation in Georgia

Secretary Condoleezza Rice
Stakeout at the White House
Washington, DC
August 12, 2008 1:21 P.M. EDT

SECRETARY RICE: Good afternoon. I have just finished a meeting with the President at which I was able to brief him on the ongoing diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in Georgia.

I was earlier on the phone this morning with the Foreign Ministers of the G7, and on that phone call, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner of France briefed us on the ongoing discussions between the French and the Russians, as well as the French and the Georgians. I believe that they believe that they have made some progress, and we welcome that, and we certainly welcome the EU mediation.

Timeline by 13th of August

13 August

10:20 According to the local sources, Russian troops have entered Gori.

09:20 Russian armored troops (50 units) head towards Gori from Tskhinvali.

09:12 Four civilian cars with murdered passengers are reported to have been seen in the village of Tedotsminda, Gori district.

08:00 The village of Karaleti, Gori district has been attacked by Ossetian separatists again. The cases of physical assaults and abuses of the local residents are being reported.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice comments sharp on Russia violence

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warns Russia of international isolation and stated Russia must end military operation and aggression towards Georgia.

Condoleezza Rice voiced the corresponding announcement in live air of “BBC” TV Company couple of hour ago.

Georgian troops leave Abkhazia, Russia enters Gori

TBILISI, Georgia – The head of Georgia’s national security council said Wednesday that 50 Russian tanks had entered the strategic Georgian city of Gori, and another top Georgian official said his country’s troops were completely driven from the separatist province of Abkhazia.

Security council head Alexander Lomaia said that the tanks entered Gori about 9:45 a.m., about eight hours after Georgia accepted a cease-fire previously agreed to by Russia to end a conflict that broke out last week.

Independent confirmation of Lomaia’s claim was not immediately possible.

Georgia Files Lawsuit against Russia in ICG

Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 13 Aug.’08 /

Georgia filed a lawsuit against Russia in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), claiming Russia, through the separatist authorities in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, violated a convention meant to eliminate racism, the Hague-based court said on August 12.

It said in a press release that Georgia claims Russia violated its obligations under the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) “during three distinct phases of its interventions in South Ossetia and Abkhazia” in the period from 1990 to August 2008.

Russian warplanes struck Georgian villages

The Georgian government claimed that despite Medvedev’s announcement about an end of military operations against Georgia, Russian warplanes today struck two villages: Ruisi (Kareli region), Sakorintlo (Kaspi region) and agara (Khashuri region).

“Russian military forces bombed an ambulance outside the breakaway province of South Ossetia” – is said in the special statement.

Russian Troops Quit Poti after Sinking Vessels

Russian forces withdrew from Poti late last night after sinking several vessels of the Georgian armed forces, according to a reporter of a Poti-based radio station.

She told RFE/RL Georgian service on Wednesday morning that vessels were moved away from the coast and slinked. Two vessels of the Georgian coast guard were not destroyed, according to this report.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Furious over Russia’s invasion of Georgia, the United States and its allies are weighing steps to diplomatically isolate Moscow as punishment for the conflict, senior administration officials said Tuesday.

“It is not business as usual anymore with the Russians, and there are consequences for doing what they are doing,” one senior U.S. official said.

Two senior administration officials said Tuesday that they could not speak for attribution because no final decisions had been made. But the United States will be discussing steps to take with its allies in the NATO alliance and the European Union, they said.

Kodori Under Abkhaz Control

Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 12 Aug.’08 /

Authorities in breakaway Abkhazia said their forces were in full control of upper Kodori Gorge.

Officials in Tbilisi have confirmed it.

However, there are conflicting reports about how the process took place.

The Abkhaz side has claimed that its troops took over the area after fighting with the Georgian forces throughout the day, on August 12.

Shota Utiashvili, the Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman, told Civil.Ge that the Georgian forces were withdrawn from the gorge last night.