Tbilisi - Georgia and separatist forces in South Ossetia reported fully-fledged fighting involving heavy artillery on Thursday, accusing each other of initiating the conflict. Local news agencies cited separatist officials saying Georgia had moved a large contingent of troops to the province's border and villages surrounding the capital Tskhinvali were being shelled by Georgian forces using mortars and artillery.
The South Ossetian side also said that Georgia had deployed rocket launchers at the border.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, meanwhile, said Tbilisi was showing "maximum restraint" in the face of provocations from separatist forces.
The Georgian Interior Ministry said its village of Avnevi was under attack and one of its armoured personnel carrier had been blown up.
"But we also do not recommend anyone to continue provocations," he told journalists from a military hospital in the town of Gori near the breakaway region, where he visited two soldiers injured in overnight fighting.
South Ossetia claimed 18 people were injured in the earlier clashes.
Georgia's Foreign Ministry released a statement Thursday accusing Russian forces of arming the rebel regions.
Local media cited witnesses as saying they had seen military convoys en route from western Georgia toward the breakaway region.
