Time line: Georgia-Ossetia armed conflict, August 8

8 Aug, 2008 19:30 / Updated 16 years ago

23:25 GMT – Georgia resumes intensive shelling of Tskhinvali's residential quarters.

22:50 GMT – Heavy shelling reported in Tskhinvali. 22:00 GMT – Georgia resumes intensive fire on residential areas in Tskhinvali, the Peacekeepers' commander says, reports TASS news agency. 21:27 GMT – South Ossetia's military have downed a Georgian attack plane, the Russian Vesti television channel reports. The fall of the blazing plane was videotaped. The fate of the pilot remains unknown. 21:25 GMT – Georgia announces plans to withdraw half of its peacekeeping contingent in Iraq because of the South Ossetian crisis. 21:22 GMT – South Ossetia is fully in control of Tskhinvali, but Georgia is making attempts to retake the city, accordign to the self-proclaimed republic's official spokeswoman Irina Gagloyeva. 20:36 GMT – The UN Security Council has begun closed-door consultations to discuss the situation in South Ossetia. The meeting, initiated by Georgia, is the second in 24 hours. 20:25 GMT – Georgia asks US to put pressure on Russia to “stop the armed aggression” in South Ossetia 19:19 GMT – Twelve Russian peacekeepers killed and 50 injured in South Ossetia, according to Russian Army Assistant Commander Col. Igor Konashenkov. 19:08 GMT – President Dmitry Medvedev says: “Russia is taking adequate military and political measures to put an end to violence in South Ossetia.” 18:56 GMT – The breakaway region’s government says Tskhinvali is fully under South Ossetian control, but fighting over one of the city's districts is continuing. 18:36 GMT – Russian Emergencies Ministry plane has taken off from Moscow region. It will deliver a mobile hospital to North Ossetia to help refugees from  the south. 18:31 GMT – South Ossetian armed units deployed near Tskhinvali have started firing at Georgian military positions, according to Georgian media. 17:48 GMT – Georgia admits up to 30 causalities on its side during the offensive. 17:35 GMT – In a televised address, Georgian President Saakashvili claims Georgia ‘controls Tskhinvali and most South Ossetian villages and regions. 17:22 GMT – Hundreds of volunteers enter South Ossetia from Russian territory. 17:20 GMT – South Ossetia calls on the world to ‘stop the genocide’ in the region and recognise its independence. 17:03 GMT – Ossetian leader Kokoity says 1,400 people were killed in Friday's confrontation. 16:55 GMT – Georgia withdraws half of its troops from Iraq. 16:46 GMT – Thousands of people continue to flee the violence in South Ossetia. Most of the refugees are sheltered by their relatives in North Ossetia. 16:32 GMT – Abkhazian troops vow to march on towards the border with Georgia regardless of developments in South Ossetia. 16:14 GMT – Russian Air Force denies bombing a Georgian military base. 15:50 GMT – Russian troops will suppress any fire from Georgian forces aimed at South Ossetia, warns Russia’s Defence Ministry. 15:14 GMT – Russia bans flights to and from Georgia, starting at midnight on Friday. 15:03 GMT – UN Security council to discuss the situation in South Ossetia on Friday night at 19:00 GMT. 14:52 GMT – Shootings cease in Tskhivali as people check damages. 14:35 GMT – Ossetian authorities report more then a thousand dead in Tskhinvali. 14:23 GMT – Mass fires reported in Tskhinvali. 1410 GMT – South Ossetian President Kokoyti announces the breakaway republic’s troops are driving Georgian forces away. 14:05 GMT – Hundreds of civilians have been killed in Tskhinvali, according to South Ossetian President Kokoyti. 14:01 GMT – Georgian Foreign Ministry calls on the world community to make Russia ‘understand, that invading a sovereign state is unacceptable’. 13:43 GMT – President Medvedev orders Prime Minister, Emergencies Minister and Interior Minister to organise humanitarian aid for South Ossetia. 13:25 GMT – Russian Defence Ministry accuses Georgian troops of shooting at peacekeepers and civilians and denying them medical help. 13:21 GMT – Russian Defence Ministry confirms more then 10 Russian peacekeepers have been killed in South Ossetia on Friday and 30 others wounded. 13:16 GMT – Saakashvili accuses Russia of ‘waging a war’ against Georgia, asks for U.S. support. 12:57 GMT – International community must stop turning a blind eye on mass arms purchases by Georgia, says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. 12:55 GMT – Russian FM Sergey Lavrov accuses Georgia of ethnical cleansing in Ossetian villages. 12:37 GMT – “If Russia indeed sent its troops to Georgian territory, it means we are at war with Russia,” said head of Georgian national security council. 12:34 GMT – Russian envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin calls on the alliance’s member states not to support Saakashvili. 12:31 GMT – Georgian Parliament speaker David Bargadze accuses Russia of ‘military aggression’, and threatens to use ‘all means necessary to protect the country’s sovereignty’. 12:22 GMT – Germany’s leader Angela Merkel calls for an immediate end to the use of force. 12:19 GMT – Tskhinvali residents emerge from shelters after a lull in fighting, report Ossetian peacekeepers. The city is short of water and electricity has been cut in many areas. Telephone communications are difficult. 12:13 GMT – Georgia accuses Russia of bombing its military base near Tbilisi. 12:04 GMT – Russia’s Defence Ministry announces it has sent peacekeeping reinforcements to South Ossetia 11:57 GMT – Peacekeepers report South Ossetians destroy several Georgian tanks, re-take Tskhinvali. 11:41 GMT – Russian communists and liberal democrats call for State Duma meeting to discuss the situation in South Ossetia. 11:33 GMT – South Ossetia reports that Russian armoured vehicles have entered Tskhinvali. 11:25 GMT – Tskhinvali ‘completely destroyed’ after massive shelling by Gerogian troops, reports head of peacekeeping force. 11:17 GMT – Georgia gives South Ossetians three hours to surrender. 11:12 GMT – International Red Cross Committee is ‘deeply concerned’ with the humanitarian situation in South Ossetia. 11:02 GMT – PACE will support any effort to resolve the conflict in South Ossetia peacefully. 10:59 GMT – South Ossetia accuses Georgian hackers of attacking its Information Ministry’s website. 10:58 GMT – Russia will not allow the death of its citizens go unpunished, says Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. 10:56 GMT – Wounded people from South Ossetia start arriving to North Ossetian hospitals. 10:45 GMT – Keeping volunteers away from South Ossetia ‘will be difficult’, says Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who’s visiting China for the opening of the Olympics 10:33 GMT – Georgia announces a three-hour ceasefire starting from 11:00 GMT to let civilians out of the conflict zone. 10:26 GMT – Transdniester may allow volunteers to fight in South Ossetia, says region’s Foreign Ministry. 10:23 GMT – Peacekeepers ask Abkhazia not to send  its troops into the demilitarized zone. 09:53 GMT – British Foreign Office calls on the two sides to stop military actions and resume negotiations. 09:36 GMT – Georgia’s aggression gives the Russian Parliament a ‘serious reason’ to recognise South Ossetia’s independence, says chair of Federation Council Sergey Mironov. 09:21 GMT – NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer calls for an immediate to violence in South Ossetia. 09:05 GMT – Russian Defence Ministry says it won’t let Georgia harm peacekeepers and Russian citizens. 08:32 GMT – The European Commission’s head of foreign policy tells Mikhail Saakashvili to do everything necessary to stop violence in South Ossetia. 08:18 GMT – Firefight spreads to Tskhinvali streets, reports head of peacekeeping force. 07:49 GMT –Emergencies Ministry ready to evacuate Russian citizens from South Ossetia if ordered to. 07:44 GMT – Abkhazian forces move to border with Georgia and concentrate near the demilitarised zone. 07:44 GMT – Mikhail Saakasvili says Russia has launched a full-scale military operation against Georgia. 07:20 GMT – Georgian Minister of Reintegration asks the international community to stop putting pressure on Tbilisi and help find a compromise. 07:02 GMT – Russian Migration Service ready to deal with refugees from South Ossetia. 06:51 GMT – UN Security Council fails to approve a Russia-sponsored ceasefire call. 06:17 GMT – Firefight intensifies at Tskhinvali outskirts, says South Ossetian President Kokoyti. 05:57 GMT – Georgia pledges to pardon South Ossetian leadership and invest $US 35 million into the region 05:28 GMT – North Ossetia prepares for the arrival of more than 2,000 refugees 05:01 GMT – South Ossetia asks Russia for protection and to help it stop the bloodshed 04:13 GMT – Georgian troops resume attack on the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali.