Ossetia: I've never heard anything so monstrous as people shelling a hospital.
A convoy of three buses and an escort of armed Russian Special
Forces soldiers travelled across the border with Russia into South
Ossetia yesterday, in a trip organised by the Kremlin for foreign media
to witness first hand the destruction in Tskhinvali.
At the
village of Dzhava 20 miles beyond the border a huge queue of Russian
military hardware stood pointing south, testament to the might of the
resurgent Russian state.
Several truck-mounted rocket launchers
were a sign of Moscow's intent to hold Tskhinvali at all costs.
Approaching Tskhinvali, the group of reporters was transferred to
armoured personnel carriers because of the risk of fire from Georgian
snipers, said the Russian officers leading the trip.
In
villages close to the city there were many burned out houses, and
others were still ablaze. In the city itself it was clear that claims
the city had been levelled to the ground by artillery were exaggerated.
However, it was also evident that while some neighbourhoods were
intact, there were patches of terrible destruction.
At a
crossroads in the north of the city there was evidence of a fierce fire
fight. Three destroyed Georgian tanks were slewed across the road, a
mess of ash and twisted metal. The heavy turret of one tank had been
tossed across the street, falling through a shop front. Nearby on the
ground lay a human foot.
Colonel Igor Konashenko of the Russian
army said: "There were Georgian attacks overnight but our troops are in
full control of the city. So far we've had no orders to move south into
Georgia."
Hearing of a ceasefire yesterday, civilians began to
emerge from bunkers and basements. At the crossroads, Izolda Deppiyeva,
50, looked out on the scene of ruined ground floor apartment in a block
riddled by gunfire. She recalled the moment when Georgian artillery
first hit the city.
"There was a great wave of pressure which twisted me and flung me against the kitchen wall."



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