9:06am UK, Monday August 11, 2008

Russia has accused Georgia of shelling the capital of South Ossetia, killing three of its peacekeepers, while Georgia says Russian jets are mounting bombing raids deep inside its borders.

South Ossetian military man holds a child in the troubled province

Georgian reports claimed that more than 50 Russian bombers had carried out raids this morning.

Earlier, interior ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said Russian planes bombed a military base and an air traffic control centre in Georgian capital, Tbilisi.

He said a “massive” aerial bombardment of the central Georgian city of Gori was taking place.

Russia’s Interfax news agency accused Georgian forces of shelling the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, adding that the bombardment had killed three Russian peacekeepers and wounded 18 others.

Interfax also said Georgia had refused a Russian ultimatum to disarm or face attack in a zone near the breakaway region of Abkhazia.

Russia is warning that its troops will cross into the Georgian-controlled territory if Georgian troops in the area refused to disarm.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband condemned Russian military strikes against Georgia, saying recent bombings had taken fighting well beyond South Ossetia.

Mr Miliband said he had spoken with “international colleagues” early on Monday and there was “widespread concern about the escalating violence in Georgia”.

Russia first sent its forces into South Ossetia on Friday after Georgia tried to seize control of the province, which broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s.

A spokesman for the Kremlin said Russia’s president, prime minister, defence minister and top generals had met to discuss the situation, but did not give details of what was said.

US President George W Bush said he had told Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin firmly that the violence in Georgia was “unacceptable”.

“I expressed my grave concern about the disproportionate response of Russia and that we strongly condemn bombing outside of South Ossetia,” Mr Bush added.

US Vice President Dick Cheney said Russian aggression “must not go unanswered” and that its “continuation would have serious consequences for its relations with the US”.

While Russia put the death toll in South Ossetia at 2,000, estimates of the body count in Georgia ranged from 92 to 150.