Monday, August 11, 2008

Russian forces reported to have seized the city Gori (UPDATED!)

Press TV reports:

Georgia says Russian forces have occupied the Georgian city of Gori amid an armed conflict in the breakaway region of South Ossetia. "Russian forces are occupying Gori", 76 kilometers west of Georgia's capital Tbilisi, the secretary of Georgia's security council, Alexander Lomaia, told AFP Monday. Lomaia said "Georgian armed forces received an order to leave Gori and to fortify positions near Mtskheta to defend the capital. This is a total onslaught."

The old city of Mtskheta is located 24 kilometers west of the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. Russia was heavily pounding Gori with artillery fire and aid raids and its ground troops were preparing for an assault, the Georgian interior ministry spokesman Chota Outiachvili, has earlier told AFP.

UPDATE: Russian military spokesman denies that any Russian forces are in Gori.