Russia escalated its war in Georgia again yesterday, sending troops and tanks out of separatist enclaves to stage the first major invasion of undisputed Georgian territory. One armored column seized a town and major military base in the west of Georgia, effectively opening a second front, while another menaced the central city of Gori.
More than 2,000 people have been reported killed in the fighting, but the death toll was expected to rise, for large areas of Georgia were too dangerous for journalists to enter.