Russia halts military action against Georgia

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday ordered a halt to Russia’s military onslaught against Georgia, but the Tbilisi government reported



new attacks and there was a wary international response.

“The aggressor has been punished and suffered significant losses,” Medvedev said in announcing the move.

Russian troops and tanks poured into Georgia on Friday after the Georgian army launched an offensive last week to regain control of South Ossetia, the



Moscow-backed region which broke away from Tbilisi in the early 1990s.

Russia says the conflict has left more than 2,000 civilians dead, while the United Nations estimates some 100,000 people have been forced from their homes.

“I have taken the decision to end the operation to force Georgian authorities into peace,” Medvedev told defence chiefs at a meeting on the South Ossetia conflict.



“The purpose of the operation has been achieved.... The security of our peacekeeping forces and the civilian population has been restored.”

The Russian leader, however, insisted that any new Georgian attacks would be “liquidated.”

Georgia said several villages were bombed after the announcement. Russia’s military angrily denied the claim and said Georgian soldiers were still firing at its