Firing in Tskhinvali hushes, residents fear night assaultsAugust 8, 2008 - 22:06 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Residents of Tskhinvali come out of the basement where they were hiding from Georgian shelling. Firings hushed. There is no electricity, water and gas. South Ossetian Defense Ministry officials say Georgian military abandoned the territory and people are searching for wounded."We should first of all do something to help those in the city hospital. It's still unclear what happened to the people. Many have lost their homes. People fear that the assault will be resumed at night. There is no panic but shock," a man said, Vesti reports. On the eve on the Olympic Games in Beijing, Georgia launched an intrusion into South Ossetia. Civilians and Russian peacekeepers were killed and wounded. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called the assault "a grave violation of the international law" and said the deaths of the Russian citizens will not go unpunished. Russian forces were sent to support peacekeepers. Staff headed by Russian army land forces commander Vladimir Boldyrev was established in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Armenia votes for UN resolution granting Palestine new rights The U.N. General Assembly voted by a wide margin on May 11 to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine. Second round of Armenia-Azerbaijan talks set for May 11 The second round of negotiations between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan will take place on May 11. About 32,000 rally in Yerevan to deman Pashinyan’s resignation About 31,700 people attended an opposition rally on Thursday, May 9 in Yerevan demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Armenian, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister to meet in Almaty Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov will meet in Almaty. |