Wars & Rumors of Wars

TSKHINVALI, Georgia (AP) — Georgian troops launched a major military offensive Friday to regain control over the breakaway province of South Ossetia, prompting a furious response from Russia — which vowed retaliation and sent a column of tanks into the region. A Russian military officer says that 10 Russian peacekeepers have been killed and another 30 wounded in the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia. Russian Ground Forces spokesman Col. Igor Konashenkov says the Russians were killed and injured during Georgian shelling of their barracks. The fighting was the worst outbreak of hostilities since the province won de-facto independence in a war that ended in 1992 — raising fears that war could once again erupt. Georgia's president said today that his country is under attack by Russian tanks and warplanes, and he accused Russia of targeting civilians as tensions over the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia appeared to boil over into full-blown conflict.

Fighting raged for a second day in the Georgian separatist region of South Ossetia on Saturday, as Georgia's interior ministry accused Russia of launching new air attacks on three military bases and key facilities for shipping oil to the West. Russia sent hundreds of tanks and troops into the separatist province of South Ossetia and bombed Georgian towns Saturday in a major escalation of the conflict that has left scores of civilians dead and wounded. Georgia, a staunch U.S. ally, launched a major offensive Friday to retake control of breakaway South Ossetia. Georgia's parliament Saturday approved a request by President Mikhail Saakashvili's to impose a "state of war," as the conflict between Georgia and Russia escalated, Georgian officials said.