The FINANCIAL — MOSCOW — Russian tanks rumbled into the breakaway Georgian republic of South Ossetia on Friday, and volunteer Russian fighters reportedly made their way over the border, pushing Moscow closer to a full-blown war against U.S.-backed Georgia.
The fighting that erupted among Georgia, Russia and Ossetian rebels over the mountainous sliver of land threatened to provide a battleground for long-simmering tensions between Moscow and the West. At nightfall, each side was calling in reinforcements and pumping out its own radically unique version of the day's events.
A sharp escalation began earlier Friday, when Georgia launched a large-scale, predawn military operation meant to seize control over the rebel region, whose de facto autonomy and ties to Russia have long been an irritant to Georgian leaders. Backed by warplanes, Georgian troops plunged into South Ossetia and waged a hard battle throughout the day for control of the republic's capital, Tskhinvali.
Officials on both sides reported civilian deaths, although estimates could not be confirmed. South Ossetian officials said that some 1,400 people had been killed in the battles, and Georgia announced that 30 people had died in the Russian bombardment.
Each side blamed the other for violating a shaky cease-fire.
Who seized what?
Tskhinvali's status remained unclear late Friday. Both sides, by turns, claimed to have seized control of most of the city. Russian troops reported that many of the buildings had been destroyed and that the Parliament building burned to the ground. Aid organizations warned that civilians were hiding out in basements without water, electricity or medical help.
The United Nations Security Council called its second emergency session in less than 24 hours in an attempt to prevent war. But by Friday evening, diplomats remained unable to reach an agreement on a statement calling for negotiations and an end to violence.
In Beijing, where President Bush was attending the Olympics, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said the U.S., which "supports Georgia's territorial integrity," was calling for an immediate cease-fire. The Pentagon has about 200 troops in Georgia training units deployed to Iraq, officials said.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, issued a statement calling on the international community to "give Russia the message that invading the territory of a sovereign state and bombing its territory is unacceptable in the 21st century."
South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity called the fight a "genocide."
"The latest tragic developments should become the last step toward the recognition of South Ossetia's independence," he told news service Interfax. "I am sure that the independence of South Ossetia will be recognized in the near future."
Putin's influence
Pitting Russia against U.S.-backed Georgia, the conflict could escalate quickly and prove difficult to quell. From Chechnya to Abkhazia, Russian-sponsored volunteers were encouraged to join South Ossetia's fight against Georgia, raising the threat of a war that could engulf the historically bellicose Caucasus.
On Friday night, a military convoy left the Abkhaz capital and headed for South Ossetia to join the battle, Interfax reported.
The region is strategically important for its oil and gas pipelines and has emerged as a sort of post-Cold War proving ground where the United States and Russia jockey for influence.
Relations between the two countries have chilled under the leadership of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, as an increasingly strong and wealthy Russia seeks to re-establish itself as a superpower.
An important player
Georgia is a key player in that contest. A small, mountainous and poor country on Russia's southern flank, Georgia has deeply distressed Moscow by allying itself with the United States. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has sent thousands of soldiers to fight in Iraq and campaigned for NATO membership.
But Georgia has long been bedeviled by the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Both republics fought bloody wars for de facto independence following the Soviet collapse and have depended upon Moscow for everything from passports to political cover. Russian peacekeeping forces have been stationed in the republics for years.
This year, analysts say, Russia seized upon the friendly republics to score a point in its ongoing grudge match against the West. When Kosovo declared independence from Russia-allied Serbia, Moscow warned that breakaway republics around the world would be encouraged to follow suit. Critics accuse Russia of fomenting strife in Georgia's rebel provinces to drive the point home.
All of those tensions — between Russia and the West, between Georgia and its breakaway republics — are fuel for this week's fighting and reasons the violence might be hard to contain.
"It's clearly very unstable and dangerous," said Andrei Kotunov, president of the New Eurasia Foundation in Moscow. "I don't think we'll be able to get back to square one. This has already created something that is not going to fade away easily, this resentment and hostility."
If Russia were to engage in a full-on military conflict with Georgia, analysts say the battle probably would be protracted and bloody.
Little choice for Russia?
Many analysts said that Russia, glutted with oil and gas profits and enjoying an unprecedented stability, has little strategic interest in a war with Georgia. Despite the neo-Cold War rhetoric, Russia values the U.S. alliance too much to damage it over a relatively minor issue such as South Ossetia.
But, they warn, Russia might have little choice. Moscow is eager to demonstrate dominance in the region. Moreover, it will be difficult for Russia to stomach attacks on South Ossetians, most of whom have been made Russian citizens.
At least 10 Russian soldiers were killed in Friday's fighting, and dozens more were wounded, Russian officials said.
As news of the casualties reached Moscow, infuriated officials vowed retaliation.
"Of course, there will be a response," said Putin, speaking on the sidelines of the Olympics in Beijing.
"We will not allow the deaths of our compatriots to go unpunished," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said.
Russian airstrikes
Around the same time, Russian warplanes launched airstrikes on several Georgian towns, according to Georgian witnesses, and Russian army units were sent over the border. Later in the day, Russian planes reportedly bombed Georgian air bases.
Russian news reports referred to the fresh army units headed into South Ossetia from Russia as "reinforcements." South Ossetian leaders told Interfax that the arrival of new fighters was helping them to recapture control of the capital from Georgian troops.
Saakashvili, meanwhile, ordered a full mobilization of all reservists, and told CNN that his government planned to call home the 2,000 Georgian troops serving with U.S.-led forces in Iraq.
"We all have to unite in this very important and difficult moment for our homeland, when our future and our freedom are under threat," Saakashvili said in a national address.
By MEGAN K. STACK Los Angeles Times
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