Heavy Fighting Reported in S.Ossetia

Georgia has launched a large-scale military aggression against South Ossetia, Anatoly Barankevich, the secretary of the breakaway region’s National Security Council said on August 7.

“Numerous Georgian military units are moving towards the border [with the breakaway region],” Barankevich said.

The South Ossetian secessionist authorities said that Khetagurov village and Tskhinvali were being shelled by Georgians from the nearby village of Khetagurov, using machineguns, mortars and artillery.

The South Ossetian side has also said that Georgia has deployed 27 multiple rocket launchers close to the border with the breakaway region.

Meanwhile, the Georgian side said that the Georgian village of Avnevi was under attack by South Ossetian militiamen. The Interior Ministry said that a Georgian armored personnel carrier was blown up by the militias in the village.

Eyewitnesses say they have seen military convoys moving on the highway from western Georgia in the direction of Gori, as well as around Gori.

Independent information from the ground is not available.