I can't think of any puns on Georgia

It seems that the Georgian ceasefire hasn’t quite brought an end to all the hostilities. According to the NY Times, the Russians and the Georgians are accusing each other of breaking the accord. The Russians are securing/attacking (depending on who you ask) the city of Gori, directly south of South Ossetia. Gori sits astride both of the major routes through the country, from the north into Russia, and east/west, splitting the Black Sea coast from the capital of Georgia, Tblisi.

The Guardian reports that the Russians are being followed by a group of irregulars, according to locals comprising Chechens, Cossacks and Ossetians. The Guardian article also has an interesting video clip featuring columns of Russian armor moving across bridges and into towns. It’s worth checking out.

To add to the confusion, the Washington Post has contradictory quotes from both the president of Georgia and the deputy interior minister. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said that Russia is trying to “murder” Georgia’s democracy by advancing on Tblisi, while deputy minister Ekaterine Zguladze said the Russians were not moving on the capital. Both the Guardian and the Times reported that Russian tanks were reported heading for the capital, but then turned towards Russian. The Post also reports that a military base built to NATO standards in Gori is under attack, which may be the point of the assault on Gori.

So, that’s the situation in Georgia as best I can tell. It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out in a couple of weeks, as I don’t think either side’s reports can be taken at face value. The particulars from all the reports agree, but no one seems to know what to make of everything, who’s telling the truth and who’s lying (probably a little of both on both sides). The news about the irregulars following the Russians in is certainly worrisome, and may be cause for the Georgians to keep fighting, and an excuse for the Russians to stay. As they say, the situation is developing.