Русская версияRussia has kept up its attacks on Georgia in the early hours of
Monday, brushing aside appeals for a ceasefire after its forces
swept through the Georgian rebel region of South Ossetia.
An
interior ministry spokesman said Russian planes bombed the base of
a special forces battalion and an air traffic control centre in the
suburbs of the Georgian capital Tbilisi early on Monday. Georgian
President Mikheil Saakashvili said late Sunday Russian tanks were
on Georgian territory and said a "massive" aerial bombardment of
the Georgian city Gori was taking place. The Red Cross says 40,000
people have fled their homes in Georgia. Meanwhile, French Foreign
Minister Bernard Kouchner has arrived in Tbilisi to spearhead
mediation efforts. The European Union-backed plan calls for an
immediate ceasefire, medical access to victims, controlled
withdrawals of troops on both sides and eventual political talks.
Kouchner was set to travel to Moscow on Monday, where he hopes to
meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. European Union foreign
ministers are holding a crisis meeting to discuss the bloc's
response to the conflict on Wednesday in Brussels.
(Deutsche Welle)
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