Desperate plea for peace as Georgian toll mounts

AN ELDERLY woman lies battered and dazed in the twisted rubble of her home, her face streaked with blood and soot as she reaches out a despairing hand and begs for help.

As the fires which engulfed the Georgian town of Gori threatened to spread last night, an international team of diplomats was heading to the war-torn former Soviet state in a bid to broker a ceasefire.

UK Defence Secretary Des Browne confirmed that combined EU, US and Nato delegation will travel to Tbilisi as Russian bombardment continued.

The announcement came after Georgia claimed that at least 60 people died in Gori when Russian bombs hit residential buildings as well as military targets.

Russian officials say 2,000 civilians have been killed by Georgian attacks in the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

The crisis began spiralling when Georgian forces launched a surprise assault on Thursday night to regain control of South Ossetia, which has had de facto independence since the end of a civil war in 1992. Fighting raged in South Ossetia for a second day yesterday as Russia sent hundreds of tanks and troops into the separatist province and dropped bombs on Georgia that left scores dead or wounded.

There were reports that Russian warplanes bombed the Vaziani military base on the outskirts of the Georgian capital and attempted unsuccessfully to bomb the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which carries oil to the West from Asia.

Georgia said it has shot down 10 Russian planes, including four yesterday, according to Kakha Lomaya, head of the country's security council.

There have also been attacks by separatists in Abkhazia, another Georgian province which has Russian backing for independence.

The deepening chaos is threatening to cause a refugee crisis. More than 30,000 refugees from South Ossetia are thought to have fled the fighting there to Russia, Russian government chief of staff Sergei Sobyanin said last night. "In reality we have a humanitarian catastrophe," he said.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has made a formal declaration of war against Russia. He has also asked the Georgian parliament for permission to proclaim a state of siege. This would increase both his authority and that of the army.

Britain's special representative to the South Caucuses, Sir Brian Fall, was last night attending emergency talks in Georgia with other officials from the US, EU, Nato and the Organisation of Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband expressed fears that the conflict over South Ossetia was spreading to other parts of the region with the prospect of "large scale" civilian losses.

Miliband, who has been in talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other counterparts around the world, said: "The UK Government is deeply concerned by the violence in Georgia.

"The escalation in fighting is dangerously destabilising and there is also the threat of civilian losses on a large scale.

"Reports of fighting and bombing outside South Ossetia are especially disturbing as they represent a broadening and deepening of the conflict.

"The UK believes it is vital for leaderships on both sides to call for fighting to cease and for peace talks to start as soon as possible."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday afternoon held what was described as "long and detailed" talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the current head of the European Union. Britain is also standing ready to send humanitarian support to the region.

Miliband added: "The UK will be discussing with all our partners how to stop the spread of violence, secure a ceasefire and get talks under way."

The announcements came as Georgia's ambassador to the UK, Giorgi Badrize, accused Russia of unleashing a "cyber war" as well as an all-out military offensive against his country.

Last year, Estonia claimed that many of its state websites were pulled from the internet after it removed a Soviet war memorial in Tallinn. The Estonians claimed it traced the attacks to Russian state computer servers, but the Kremlin denied any involvement.

Now a number of key Georgian websites, including the personal homepage of President Saakashvili, are no longer operational.

Badrize said: "Georgia has been attacked by a formidable force. It is a brutal attack with the use of air force, tanks and even the trademark cyber attack."

• 'Planes are bombing us, fire is raging above. Somebody help'

• Oil and prestige fuel the 'New Cold War'

• Refugees: Agencies fear lack of access to South Ossetia

• Scenarios: What lies ahead for Moscow and Tbilisi?

South Ossetia Crisis: Q and A

What is the background to the region?

South Ossetia fought unsuccessfully for independence from Georgia in 1991-1992, following the collapse of the former Soviet Union, and now exists as an autonomous region within the country. A separatist administration has continued to push for the establishment of a new state since the early 1990s. It is supported by Russia, which has troops in the region tasked with peacekeeping.

Why does South Ossetia want independence?

The area is predominantly settled by Ossetians, who originate from the Russian plains and differ ethnically from Georgians. North of the Georgian border, North Ossetia is recognised as a autonomous republic within the Russian Federation, and Southern Ossetians want a similar settlement. Georgia has categorically refused one.

What triggered the recent crisis?

Tension has been building since 2006, when an unofficial referendum in the region revealed a desire amongst South Ossetians to press for full independence, thereby rejecting the autonomous status offered by Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili upon his election in 2004. Attempts by Georgia to move closer to Nato have also irritated the Russians. Weeks after a Nato statement opened the door for Georgian entry into the alliance at an unspecified date in the future, Russia strengthened links with separatists in South Ossetia. A number of clashes have followed.

Are there any ulterior motives behind Georgia's actions?

Some speculators have suggested President Saakashvili may be attempting to spark a conflict between Moscow and Nato as a means of cementing Georgia's as yet unofficial links with the organisation, although analysts predict this outcome would be unlikely.