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Ceasefire in Georgia amid charges

MOSCOW: A France-brokered ceasefire in Georgia negotiated on Tuesday appeared to be largely holding on Wednesday even as both sides accused each other of violations.

Russia observed a day of mourning on Wednesday for its soldiers and 2,000 civilians who died in five days of fighting triggered by Georgia’s offensive against South Ossetia. Russian military losses announced on Wednesday include 74 men killed, 171 wounded and 19 missing. Georgia said 175 of its soldiers died. The U.N. estimated that 1,00,000 people had been displaced.

At Georgia’s request, a modified version of the peace plan removed reference to international talks on the “future status” of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Georgia’s other breakaway territory, but Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted the status would be discussed anyway. He said Russian forces would only withdraw to their pre-conflict positions after making sure that Georgian troops were back in barracks. Mr. Lavrov confirmed foreign mercenaries were among Georgian troops fighting in South Ossetia. A Russian military intelligence source told the RIA agency “between 2,500 to 3,000 mercenaries from Ukraine, the Baltic states and some regions of the Caucasus under the command of U.S. instructors fought on the Georgian side.”

Russia sought to consolidate its all-out military victory over Georgia on Wednesday. A military spokesman said Russian forces continued to “suppress” sporadic fire from the Georgia side. The Russian military admitted they were indeed operating inside Georgia, “demilitarising” its territory, evacuating Georgian armour and weapons to make sure Georgia does not regain the capacity to mount a new attack. Eyewitnesses said the Russians had blown up three Georgian gunboats in Poti, a Georgian port on the Black Sea. Two reconnaissance drones were shot down over South Ossetia on Wednesday, said a military spokesman.

Mr. Lavrov announced Russian forces in Georgia “will take additional measures to ensure security” in the region “based on their experience of dealing with the Georgian side and on what has happened.” He rejected Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s demand to withdraw the peacekeepers.

The deployment of Russian troops and warships in Abkhazia forestalled a planned Georgian attack in the region, said General Anatoly Nogovitsyn. He displayed a map captured from a Georgian military vehicle, which showed directions of a proposed invasion in Abkhazia.

Pro-Russian Abkhaz leader Sergei Bagabsh said on Wednesday his forces had taken control of a demilitarized area on the border with Georgia.

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