To enlarge, click on both pictures

Georgia sent a statement to the UN on Friday accusing Russia of violating ceasefire agreements.

“Two years after the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities was signed on August 12, 2008, Russia still ignores this agreement and continues to violate almost all of its provisions,” the statement said.

“Russian troops have occupied territories beyond the conflict area,” it added.

The News:
http://en.rian.ru/wo … 00820/160274290.html

Russian Police have killed four militants in the volatile North Caucasus region of Dagestan, a local police representative said on Friday.

The militants opened fire at police officers after their car was stopped for document checks late on Thursday in the Dagestani Khasavyurt district. They were killed in retaliatory fire.

“Four people were killed in return fire,” the spokesman said, adding that their identities would soon be established.

The News:
http://en.rian.ru/ru … 00820/160269572.html

At least one person has been killed and many others injured in two separate explosions in Russia’s North Caucasus region.

An explosion hit a cafe in the city of Pyatigorsk, which lies at the foothills of the Caucasus mountains, injuring at least 20 people on Tuesday afternoon.

Stanislav Belyayev, a spokesman for the Stavropol region police, said the explosion appeared to be a “deliberate terror attack”, but added an official investigation was under way.

Earlier in the day a suicide bomber killed one policeman and injured three others in North Ossetia, authorities said.

The News:
http://english.aljaz … 108171378362906.html

00:06 – Heavy artillery shelling from the Georgian villages of Nikozi and Ergneti, as well as from the Georgian city of Gori, targeted at the capital city of the Republic of South Ossetia, Tskhinval, has begun. Ossetian villages of Dmenis, Sarabuk, Satikar, Tsunar, Khetagurovo, Velit, Mugut, Didmukha, Znaur, Galuanta and others are also under heavy shelling.

00:42 – Georgia has officially announced the war. The Commander of the Georgian peacekeepers Mamuka Kurashvili officially informs the Commander of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces (JPKF) in the conflict zone, Major-General Marat Kulakhmetov, that Georgia is starting its military operation in the zone of Georgian-Osseitan conflict to restore constitutional order in South Ossetia. He calls on the Russian peacekeepers deployed in the conflict zone not to interfere into the situation.

01:00 – Howitzer and large-caliber mortar fire opened at the villages of Dmenis, Znaur and Khetagurovo.

01:38 – Assault at Tskhinval is taking place in all directions. The Georgian side is shelling Tskhinval from GRAD artillery systems, howitzer and large-caliber mortars.

02:00 – Tskhinval volunteer fighters are defending the city, taking the positions in the northern, southern and western parts of the city.

The News:
http://cominf.org/en/node/1166484093

Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov, who claimed the Moscow Metro bombings earlier this year which killed 40 people, is said to be resigning.

In a video released online a man appearing to be Mr Umarov, 46, says he is handing over to a younger comrade.

The speaker says a man seated next to him, named as Aslambek Vadalov, can lead “more energetically”.

Doku Umarov is one of the few rebel leaders to survive from Chechnya’s spell of independence from Russia.

The News:
http://www.bbc.co.uk … orld-europe-10833767