Georgia orders S Ossetia ceasefire

Georgian tanks have launched an attack on Tskhinvali, the capital of the breakaway province of South Ossetia, according to Russia's Interfax news agency.

Simultaneously, Georgian fighter jets attacked separatist positions in South Ossetia on Friday, Interfax news agency quoted the head of Russian forces in the region as saying.

It quoted Marat Kulakhmetov as saying that five Su-25 jets took part in the strike on the village of Tkverneti.

Russia is the main backer of South Ossetian separatists, and has a "peacekeeping force" in the region.

The fighting erupted on Friday as the UN Security Council held a late-night session to discuss the conflict.

Separatists defiant

The separatists, who have controlled South Ossetia since the early 1990s, vowed to repel the attack without calling for help from Russia.

"At about 3:30am (2330 GMT on Thursday) a tank attack was launched on the southern outskirts of Tskhinvali," Interfax quoted Eduard Kokoity, the South Ossetian separatist leader, as saying.

"A heavy battle is under way."