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Russia: Gov’t prepares to start Georgia pullout
Mon. August 18, 2008 07:20 am.- By Bonny Apunyu. -
(SomaliNet) Ahead of a promised withdrawal from parts of the country under an international ceasefire plan, Russian troops with armored cars mounted checkpoints on a major Georgian highway on Monday.
News sources say soldiers in helmets inspected the boots of cars and asked drivers for identification on the main road from the capital Tbilisi to the central town of Gori. Armored vehicles and tanks stood nearby in fields, covered by camouflage tarpaulins.
Without giving specific time, the Kremlin has announced that Russia will start pulling back on Monday.
Russia mounted its biggest military deployment outside its borders since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union after Georgia sent a force on August 7-8 to try to recapture the rebel, Moscow-backed province of South Ossetia.
Meanwhile, the European Union and the United States, wary of a drift back into conflict if there are delays, are pressing Moscow to finish the pullout quickly.
Both Brussels and Washington want to see international observers on the ground quickly to monitor the pullout but no arrangements for this have yet been made.
The United Nations said a first aid convoy managed to enter Gori on Sunday and said that while buildings did not appear to be very damaged, there were "clear signs of massive looting".-Reuters
News Category: World
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