Russian army units began withdrawing from central Georgia on Thursday morning, Interfax news agency quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying.


"Units of the follow-up forces, which were earlier brought into the conflict zone, are being pulled back now," Interfax quoted a ministry spokesman as saying. The units were pulling back from the Georgian town of Gori, it added.

The Defence Ministry could not immediately be reached to confirm the report.

In Tskhinvali, the capital of the breakaway region of South Ossetia, a Reuters Television cameraman was woken by the noise of a military convoy passing through the town. The capital is close to the border with the rest of Georgia.

He saw around 30 tanks and about 20 other military vehicles passing through Tskhinvali from the direction of the Georgian border, but could not confirm their destination.

His footage showed a column of what appeared to be eight Russian T-72 tanks led by a police car.
sections: Politics, Region News
areas: Southern region