A Russian envoy called on Nato to hold an extraordinary Russia-Nato council on Tuesday to discuss the dire situation in Georgia.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili accused Moscow of trying to overthrow his government on Monday as troops pushed into two separatist regions.

Refugees continued to pour out of South Ossetia on Monday, risking snipers, aerial bombardment and tanks to reach safety across the border.

Russian troops took the capital of the separatist Georgian region of South Ossetia on Sunday after a three-day battle as Georgian forces retreated.

Russia said on Saturday it was sending reinforcements into South Ossetia, a region of Georgia where Russian forces are supporting separatists.

Fighting raged in and around the capital of Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia region on Friday as Georgian troops pounded separatist forces.

Georgian troops entered Tskhinvali, the besieged capital of the breakaway region of South Ossetia, on Friday after battling separatist forces.