Columns of Georgian forces were seen heading towards South Ossetia on Thursday [AFP]

The separatist region has been under heavy atack from Georgian forces who say they have "liberated" the area.

Georgia's national security council warned that Moscow and Tbilisi would be in "a state of war" over Russia's actions.

Russia's three main news agencies confirmed the Russian military convoy had entered South Ossetia on Friday, quoting witnesses.

Russia is the main backer of Georgian separatists in the two enclaves of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and has a "peacekeeping force" stationed in the region.

Mikhail Saakasvili, Georgia's president, said: "150 Russian tanks, armoured personnel carriers and other vehicles" had entered South Ossetia.

"This is a clear intrusion on another country's territory. We have Russian tanks on our territory, jets on our territory in broad daylight," Reuters new agency quoted him as saying.

"I must also tell you that Georgian forces have downed two Russian jet fighters over Georgia's territory."

Saakashvili said that most of the breakaway province of South Ossetia has been "liberated" in an overnight offensive.

He also said Russian aircraft bombed several Georgian villages and other civilian facilities, and that there were injuries and damage to buildings.

"Most of South Ossetia's territory is liberated and is controlled by Georgia," Saakashvili said in televised comments on Friday.

"[Russian] flights are ongoing in [over] the centre of Tskhinvali [the South Ossetian capital]... I demand Russia stop bombardment of peaceful Georgian cities."

Tank attack

Saakashvili's remarks came after Georgian tanks launched an attack on Friday on Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, according to Russia's Interfax news agency.

Simultaneously, Georgian fighter jets attacked separatist positions in South Ossetia, Interfax news agency quoted the head of Russian forces in the region as saying.

Saakashvili said: "A full-scale aggression has been launched against Georgia [by Russia]. Georgia will not yield its territory or renounce its freedom," he said.
 
He also announced a full military mobilisation with reservists being called into action.

Georgian troops have surrounded Tskhinvali, the S Ossetian capital

Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, promised on Friday to defend Russian citizens in South Ossetia.

"We cannot allow the deaths of our countrymen to go unpunished. The guilty parties will receive the punishment they deserve," he said in televised remarks.

For his part, Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, spoke of retaliation and pledged to protect Russian citizens.

Putin, on a trip to Beijing to attend the Olympics opening, did not specify the retaliatory action.

Most residents of South Ossetia and Abkhazia have Russian passports.

An open war could prompt Russia to send in more forces under the claim of protecting its citizens.

International reaction

The European Union said on Friday it was "very concerned" at the escalation of violence, a European diplomat said.
 
"We are very concerned by the dramatic escalation of the situation," the diplomat told the AFP news agency.

Meanwhile, the Security Council failed to agree early on Friday on a statement drafted by Russia that would have called on Georgia and its separatist region in South Ossetia to immediately put down their arms.

"The Security Council is not yet in a position to express itself on the situation," Jan Grauls, the Belgian ambassador and the council president for August, said.

There were no immediate plans for the council to take up the matter again.
 
The council concluded it was at a stalemate after the US, Britain and some other members backed the Georgians in rejecting a phrase in the three-sentence draft statement that would have required both sides "to renounce the use of force", council diplomats said. 

A resident of a village taken over by Georgia celebrates [Reuters]

Villages taken over

Lado Gurgenidze, Georgia's prime minister, said on Friday that Georgia will continue its military operation in South Ossetia until a "durable peace" is reached.

"These actions will continue until we manage to reach a durable peace because people are still in danger," he said.

General Mamuka Kurashvili, the head of Georgian peacekeepers in the region, said in comments broadcast on Georgia's Rustavi-2 television network: "We were forced to restore constitutional order in the whole region.

"Despite our call for peace and a unilateral ceasefire, separatists continued the shelling of Georgian villages."

"As soon as a durable peace takes hold we need to move forward with dialogue and peaceful negotiations."

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