Russian convoy advance flares Georgia tensions
Posted by: admin in Wars and Rumors of WarsSource: CNN.com
Tensions ratcheted higher in Georgia Wednesday after an advancing Russian military convoy sparked concerns of a major breakdown in a day-old cease-fire in hostilities over breakaway Georgian provinces.
A woman wheels her belongings through Tskhinvali, capital of the breakaway enclave of South Ossetia.A spokesman for the Russian government said the convoy was not bound for the Georgian capital but was demilitarizing the area near the South Ossetia border so that Georgia could not launch new attacks.
The troops, which had been on Georgia’s main east-west highway between Gori and Tbilisi, “never had plans” to travel to the capital, the spokesman said.
The Russians’ final destination and objective were unclear, CNN correspondent Matthew Chance reported.
Chance, who was riding in the convoy, said there was no resistance from Georgian soldiers, and it was possible that the Russians were on a scouting mission to choose a buffer zone between the breakaway region of South Ossetia and Georgian territory. Chance described the flag-waving Russians as relaxed. Video Watch more on the cease-fire accusations »
He said most soldiers refused to comment, but one told him: “We have come here with the approval of the Georgian people.”
Earlier Wednesday, a Georgian official told CNN the troops were headed to the abandoned military base Uplistsikhe, which they intended to destroy. The base is six miles (10 km) east of Gori.
Entries (RSS)