Confusion Reigns in the Caucasus
Russians to work with Georgians to "restore law and order" before pullout.
Aug. 14, 2008— -- The cease-fire between Russia and Georgia remains tenuous and confusing today, in and around several key towns inside the former Soviet Republic.
This evening, Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili once again accused Russian troops of carrying out ethnic cleansing in his country, claiming that he had proof to back up his assertions.
"It's so clear to me -- it's a diplomatic blackmail and military blackmail," he said, to "bring Georgia to its knees."
Speaking before reporters in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, the president said that Russian tanks were moving further into Georgia toward Kutaisi, Georgia's second-largest city.
It was a sharp turnaround from the mood this morning, when the Georgian Foreign Ministry announced that the Russian army was in the process of handing over control of the flashpoint town of Gori to Georgian police.
Interfax, Russia's official news agency, quoted a Defense Ministry official as saying that for the next two days, Russian troops and Georgian police would jointly control the town of Gori.
But ABC News Correspondent Clarissa Ward, near the town of Gori, said Russian troops were clearly still in charge this morning. Explosions and gunfire could be heard on the outskirts of the town. The source of the fighting could not be determined, and Russian tanks blocked anyone trying to approach the area, Ward said.
Ward added that there have been more reports of carjacking and looting again today in Gori. And some people, mostly elderly, could still be seen leaving the city.
When Ward asked one of the Russians soldiers at a checkpoint how long they were going to stay there, one answered sarcastically, "A year." "Why are you filming us?" said another. "There's nothing to see."
Other TV footage shot today outside Gori shows what appears to be Russian and Ossetian soldiers chasing reporters away at gunpoint. Some of the reporters' cars and cameras were confiscated. One soldier can be heard yelling in Russian, "Give me your camera you jerk, I'll kill you."
