Firing in Tskhinvali hushes, residents fear night assaults

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.